Haiti - Multihazardous Flashcards
Key info on earthquake
7.2 on moment magnitude scale
Nippes, les cayes
Hit southern peninsula
Important numbers and facts in earthquake
7.2 magnitude on moment magnitude scale
2,200 earthquake related deaths
12,260 injuries reported
130,000 homes destroyed or damaged
24,000 people displaced. 800,000 people affected in some way. 300,000 children’s schooling disrupted
650,000 people requiring humanitarian aid
Struck southwest of Haiti (southern peninsula)
Haiti site on carabbean plate just south of North American plate, TRANSFORM margin, the NA plate is moving west which causes friction between the plates - build up of pressure and jumps causing seismic activity
- earthquake caused by enriquillo plantain fault
Physical cause - the tectonic situation
He is situated close to the tectonic plate boundary between North American plate and Caribbean plate
Caribbean plate moving Eastwood with respect to the NA plate at a rate of about 20 mm per year
There are two major faults associated with this tectonic plate boundary, both light east/West across Haiti.
The septentrional fault is in the north and the enriquillo plantain fault is in the south.
The enriquillo fault accommodates a 7mm slippage a year, nearly half the total for the whole plate boundary
Most earthquakes occur along this fault - both 2010 and 2021 earthquakes were on this fault
Monitoring
Lic so generally hard to gain investment for such infrastructure
There are monitoring stations around las cayes and other regions
Aftershocks
Many aftershocks were reported mainly along the southern peninsula
Impacts
Widespread destruction in predominantly rural areas
In addition to many deaths and injuries (see facts and figures page)
Lots of key infrastructure was destroyed - schools hospitals, bridges and roads wrecked m, disrupting key services, transport farming and commerce
Some of haitis factors affecting vulnerability and capacity to cope
Long history of unstable / ineffective government - prime minister assassinated months before the disaster
Poorest country in the western hemisphere - 70% live on less than 2 dollars a day
Poor building codes - not earthquake resistant
In hurricane belt and seismically active region which poses a large threat in parallel with poor socioeconomic climate
Suffered huge losses in 2010 earthquake - frequent hazardous events have limited the ability of Haiti to rebuilt infrastructure and recover
Short term response
Govt and UN provided humanitarian aid
The UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA played a central role in coordinating the response
International organisation for migration provided temporary shelters for those who lost their homes, food and other items so people could get by
UN provided emergency wards as around 60 were destroyed
Long term responses
Govt estimated a budget of 2 billion was needed in order to rebuild and recover
Hopes to raise 1.6 billion of the 2 billion needed - many donor countries struggling after the economic impact of covid however
3/4 will go to rebuilding social services and housing and education , health and food security programmes
Rest will be spent on boosting agriculture commerce and industry - as well as environmental programmes
Other crisis Haiti is facing
2021 earthquake structuring multiple crisis of an economic (massive debt), political (president, assassinated a few months prior), security (gangs and violence), humanitarian, and developmental nature.
