LIC- Haiti Earthquake Flashcards
Info on the earthquake
7.0 earthquake struck Haiti.
The earthquake occurred in a destructive plate margin Caribbean and the North American plate
The focus was only 12.87 km deeps and the epicentre was just 25.75km from the capital,port-au-prince
Where is Haiti
Is a group of island which is near the Caribbean Sea, Central America
Population
10.9 million
Surrounding
Tropical country and have lots of mountainous regions
Poor country with a trouble past
—> lots of natural disaster, political instability & high level of poverty
59% of Haitian live on less than $2 per day
24.7 live in extreme poverty
Primary effects
220,000 killed
300,000 injured
The main port was badly damaged
Eight hospital collapsed
-> one staff
100,000 houses were destroyed
-> 200,000 damaged
1.3 million people became homeless
Secondary effect
2 million people were left without food and water
Frequent power cuts occurred
Crime increased- looting became a problem and secular violence escalated
People moved into temporary shelters
Short term response
Crucial aid was slow to arrive due to the damaged ports
USA sent rescue teams and 10,000 troops
Bottled water and purification tablets were provided
235,000 people were moved to less damaged cities away from port-au-prince
The U.K. government donated 20 million pounds
Long term response
Haiti was dependant on over sea aid
New homes were built to higher standard although the response was slow
—> one year after the earthquake, over one million were still in temporary shelters
The port needed rebuilding which required a large amount of investment
Problems
Aid arrive after 5 days for it to come
Social services destroyed
Have no electricity, water, food effects surrounding areas (after shock)
-1/3 of its building damaged or destroyed
Biggest challenge was distributing resources and supplies in an organised manner
Why did do many people die in the Haiti earthquake
The earthquake occurred at shallow depth-means less distance for the seismic waves have to travel a smaller distance through the earth to reach the surface so maintain more of their energy
Struck at the most densely area
