Haiti - LIC earthquake case study

Question 1

date?

Answer 1

12th Jan 2010

Question 2

location?

Answer 2

25km from Port Au Prince

Question 3

magnitude?

Answer 3

7.2

Question 4

time?

Answer 4

16:53

Question 5

what is the background information on the conditions of Haiti?

Answer 5

1. the poorest country in the Western hemisphere
2. 54% living on $1 a day
3. politically unstable so the UN often intervened
4. limited infrastructure and mountain range separating north from south
5. locals had no knowledge of what to do in an earthquake as there hadn’t been one in over a century

Question 6

primary affects?

Answer 6

200,000 deaths
300,000 injured (most needed amputations)
1.6 mil made homeless
160,000 homes destroyed
Port Au Prince airport collapsed
liquefaction and port collapse
roads blocked by buildings and cars
8 hospitals destroyed (left 2)
presidential palace collapsed

Question 7

secondary effects?

Answer 7

2 mil had no access to food or water
looting, riots, conflict
aid couldn’t arrive quickly
loss of tourism as the main source of income
police force collapsed, leaving no one in charge
hospitals overcrowded
homeless housed in temporary shelters/tents (still lived way after)
cholera outbreaks
frequent power cuts (fires)
mass graves for the dead

Question 8

UN responses?

Answer 8

took charge of the airport
set up base camp to coordinate communication and response
delivered food, water and medical equipment by helicopters
improved mapping software to make it easier for aid workers
set up HQ for long-term aid and recovery

Question 9

what caused the cholera outbreaks in Nov 2010?

Answer 9

Nepalese UN peacekeepers had a waste spill in their base camp which contaminated the only water source of rivers in Haiti

Question 10

were there any resolutions to the cholera outbreaks?

Answer 10

no, 2 years after the Haitian residents filed a lawsuit against the UN asking for compensation, they rejected the claims but in 2021 they accepted their part in it, but still haven’t given any aid.