Haiti earthquake case study Flashcards
Where is Haiti located?
Island in the Caribbean
Collision of North American and Caribbean plates - strike-slip fault
When was the earthquake and give some information on it?
12th January 2010
Magnitude 7 - lasted less than 1 minute - much lower magnitude and shorter duration than Japan but more devastating impacts
Epicentre 15 miles from Port-au-Prince - 13km deep
50 after shocks
What were the impacts on people?
Up to 200,000 died, thousands more injured
1.5 million left homeless - people searching for possessions and materials to build temporary shelters in the rubble after the earthquake
1 in 3 buildings (including housing) collapsed - poorly built and not “life-safe” - inadequate construction
Cholera outbreak
What were the economic impacts?
Capital Port-au-prince was left in ruins - over 2 million people lived there - port badly damaged - less trade and flows of goods possible - supplies and help could not be brought in or transported away
Cost very large amounts of money to provide aid and shelter for displaced people and to repair roads, buildings and infrastructure etc.
What were the environmental impacts?
Soft sediment amplified the earthquake in some areas (including Port-au-prince), leading to more devastating damage
Small, localised tsunamis
Coral reefs exposed to the north of the fault, farmland submerged to the south
What were the political impacts?
Warnings were given but did not have dates - were largely ignored, leading to devestation
Why do people live in Haiti?
Generations of families have lived there, “jewell of the Caribbean”, sentimental value, emotional attachment to natural characteristics
Haitian culture, folklore and traditions are full of references to earthquakes and their effects
Rich culture of art and music - emotional attachment
How have mitigation methods aimed to reduce vulnerability?
Land use zoning - depending on sediment types, tectonic features and other geography, appropriate land uses can be devised, which will reduce the impacts of earthquake events
Introduction of education programmes on earthquakes - how they work and what to do when they occur, to lessen the impacts of such events
Encouraging people to carry “earthquake kits”, containing materials and equipment they might need should another earthquake event occur, for example water purification tablets, tinned or dried food, torches, first aid kits, bottles of water, whistles (to get help and alert other people that they are there)
Introducing building codes so that buildings are “life-safe” - for example using steel supports on the corners of buildings, cross-bracing, shock absorbers and base isolators in foundations, stronger building materials - problem is that this is difficult in poor developing countries as they do not have the money to build every building like this - put regulations and codes in place
How have mitigation methods aimed to reduce losses?
$5 billion in aid, equivalent to the country’s entire GDP
Tented shelters - e.g. in Port-au-prince 300,000 used these
Supplies from other countries provided, including food, sanitation, tents, blankets etc.
