Haiti earthquake Flashcards
Date of earthquake
12/1/2010
Where did it occur and why is it’s location significant
Haiti which lies on the boundary of 2 plates at a constructive margin, high vulnerable population of 8.3 million with 80% below the poverty line
Where was the epicentre
25km from the capital Port-au-Prince
Depth of earthquake
shallow focus of 13km
Magnitude of earthquake
7.0M
Event of earthquake what happened at plates
Fault had locked in place for 250 years , rupture in the fault resulted in a slippage of 1.8m
How many buildings were destroyed and why is this number so great
250,000 buildings destroyed including governmental buildings and the Presidents Palace, this is as a result of building built of unconsolidated ground with lack of building regulations
How many deaths although what is the issue with the death toll
160,000 to 220,000 although it is said the government have inflated death tolls to receive more intentional aid
How many homeless
1 million
what became a major secondary impact linked to the high death toll
build up of dead bodies as morgues became overfilled, meaning dead bodies left of the streets leading to diseases being spread quickly
What environmental impact happened due to the soil
Capital built on unconsolidated soil leading the liquefaction which resulted in seismic waves being amplified
Economic impact
In an allready poor country with low level of GDP 1/5 lost their jobs with port being destroyed due to lateral spreading
Why was there such a delay in international aid
The airport was unusable due to the control tower being badly damaged, furthermore, there was confusion over who was in charge and prioritisation of flights leading to aid being slowed down and leading to anger among aid workers
Why else was aid slowed down
due to political instability due to a dictatorship and the country being in political chaos with no plans being made and little awareness by the residents
Who first arrived?
British search and rescue on the 17th- 5 days after the earthquake
