Seismic Hazards - impacts and Repsonses Flashcards
Describe the location of Haiti and its financial status?
Haiti is a country located on the island of Hispaniola, east of Cuba in the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. It is the poorest country in the Western
Hemisphere: $740 GDP per capita, but
high Gini Index (inequality) at 0.60:
most live on $2 a day. HDI: 0.456
Describe the fault Haiti lies on?
North American and Caribbean Plate,
or Gonàve Micropolate, Enriquillo-
Plantain Garden Fault: strike-slip force.
Had been locked for 40 years: a
seismic gap with blind faults which made it difficult to predict.
What magnitudes was the Haiti earthquake?
A catastrophic 7. 0 Mw earthquake, with the an epicentre neat the town of Léogâne, approximately 25 Kilometres west of Port au Prince, Haiti’s capital.
When did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake occurred at 4:53 local time on Tuesday 12 January 2010.
Describe the focus depth of the earthquake?
The shallow focus depth of 13km meant that the destructive power of the earthquake was severe.
How many people died, how many were injured and how many people were made homeless?
30,000 deaths
300,000 injured
1 million left homeless.
How many buildings were effected?
250,000 residential and 30,000
commercial buildings collapsed. In
Léogâne, 90% of buildings were
destroyed. Residential houses collapsed because they lacked corner reinforcements and steel rods were inadequate to support the weight of concrete. The houses pancaked as the upper floors collapsed onto those below.
What happened to the Presidential Palace?
Presidential Palace and Port au Prince
Cathedral damaged.
What happened to schools and universities?
Half the nations primary and secondary schools were damaged along with three universities.
What happened to the port?
Liquefaction (sediment is shaken and water is squeezed to the surface) of port, unconsolidated
material from Grise River:. This lead to a recession as Haiti relied on its imports and exports.
What were the responses to the earthquake?
UN appeal: $562 million — over half for emergency food USA granted leave to illegal Haitian immigrants to stay for 18 months over the crisis 10,000 US troops called-in Almost 70 NGOs distributed shelter Over 400,000 received non-shelter aid from the Red Cross There was no international help in the first 24 hours because of the damage of the control tower There was one ambulance service, but it ran out of blood Foreign aid allowed there to be a post- recession boom
