hazardous earth 4 - haiti

Question 1

physical and human setting of Haiti

Answer 1

physical: constructive late boundary: north american plate and carribean plate, enrquilo fault which had been locked for 250 years, occured january 12th at 4 o’clock, 7.0on richter scale, focus deph: 13km and epicentre was 25km west of P-A-P.

Human: GDP of 0.4 (ranked 163), GDP of $1800, urban denstity of 61% and literacy rate of 61%, population of 11 million.

Question 2

hazards created

Answer 2

• sesimic waves reached surface and ere worsened due to the soft sedimentary rock, caused damage. two strong aftershocks over 5.
• 90% of building in capital port-au-prince were destroyed, over 60% of government buildings destroyed and 80% of schools destroyed.
• liquefaction occured on steep slopes and in the occean and so did landslides. 90%of the informal settlements were on hillsides.

Question 3

impact of the earthquake

Answer 3

economic: 30,000 commercial properties destroyed, 20% of jobs disappeared, damage was $8 billion, , destructons of roads bridges, fishing ports and irrigation affacted food profuction, which accounts for 26% of Haitis output.
environmental: building waster was not cleared for years afterwads,sanitation systems; cholera outbreak: 8000 dead.
political: 60% of gov buildings destroyed so no coordiantion or leader, Dominican republicoffered hospital aid but hospitals overcrowded, 100 UN personal died.
social: 230,000 died, 1.5 million wre made homeless, all hospitals in p-a-p destoyed, min prison destroyed so 4000 inmates esced, rape and sexual assaults in camps and many of womens husbands had died, education system collapsed: 80% of schools.

Question 4

mitigating the vulernability

Answer 4

there were no attempts to mitigate the vulnerability. Haiti had no measures in place e.g.
- no strict building code or aseeismic design. No land use mapping though there was rapid urabnisation and poverty caused more people to come to the capital. NO community preparedness for the earthquake

Question 5

mitigating the losses short term

Answer 5

strengths:
- 24 hrs after EQ rescue teasm arrived. USA aircraft carries launched helicopters to bring supplies. Neighbouring country: DR sent supplies and allowed broder crossings so people could get to hospitals. Obama vowed unwavering support and sent 5,500 Us marines, navy abd army personal plus 6 militay ships. Britons donated £23 million, uk gov donated £20 million. AFter EQ UN office for project services (UNOPS) repaired 800 houses, constructed 1500.

limitations:
- hospitals overcrowded. In Haiti, 1 hospital left with 1 doctor, aid log jam as ports werre unsailable and airports destroyed. Lack of coordination made situation worse, destruction of communiation, 450 improvised camps and only 3 had potable water.

Question 6

mitigating losses long term

Answer 6

strengths:
- world bank donated $30million for redevelopment. 6 months lter a worl summit for future of Haiti held commiting $11 billion to Haiti. Aseismic design = expensive so LIDCs do small things: concrete roofs become sheet metal to prvent collapse, small windows to reduce weak points so less likely to collapse. UNOPS build back better: shut own 6 camps for IDPs and resettled them into 16 new neighbourhoods, budget of $16 million and hired 95% of worksforce from local community.

limitations:
- progress slow, by June 2010 98% of rubble still there and 1.5 million still in camps. reconstruction hard due to dense pop, 1 suburb had 120,000 in 1km squared area. Locals built housing on oft ground and steep hills prone to landslides. 4 years laer effects sill seen: over 170,000 were still in displacement camps and 23% still not in school.