Haitians who live abroad and send money back contribute one-fifth of the country’s gross domestic product. Vice. Really. Occurring at a depth of 8.1 miles (13 km), the temblor was fairly shallow, which increased the degree of shaking at the Earth’s surface. By 2008, Haiti's exports had reached $575 million, according to a World Bank report. The IADB reported that apparel made up more than 90% of Haiti's exports to America.. Officials from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) later acknowledged inconsistencies in data acquisition. Earthquake Insurance: Do You Really Need It? Damage to infrastructure in the 2010 Haiti earthquake was extensive and affected areas included Port-au-Prince, Petit-Goâve, Léogâne, Jacmel and other settlements in southwestern Haiti. Haiti's magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck a country whose buildings were barely built to engineering standards and were hopelessly fragile in the grip of such a strong quake. In November 2011 several organizations filed claims against the United Nations asking that it take responsibility for the outbreak, install new water and waste-management systems, and compensate those who fell ill or lost relatives to cholera. In the aftermath of the disaster, between 220,000 and 300,000 people lost their lives and up to three million people were severely impacted, creating the worst humanitarian crisis the country has faced to date. By 2014 the number of camps had been more than halved, though some 100,000 people remained without permanent housing. Figures released by Haitian government officials at the end of March placed the death toll at 222,570 people, though there was significant disagreement over the exact figure, and some estimated that nearly a hundred thousand more had perished. Only Capital One waived fees for all charitable donations made through their credit cards. In an October 2015 letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, a group of UN human rights experts excoriated the body for using legal loopholes to avoid taking responsibility for the epidemic and thereby undermining its own credibility. 1) the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The decrease was partly due to a Canadian-sponsored program that provided grants to some of the nearly 30,000 residents of the most-conspicuous camp—located near the collapsed presidential palace on the Champs de Mars—which allowed them to find rental housing or repair existing structures. This was the toll of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, which struck on 12 January, nine years ago. In addition, less than one-third of the population was steadily employed. “Haiti Earthquake Facts and Figures,” Accessed Dec. 16, 2019. The damaged National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, after the earthquake that occurred on January 12, 2010. 1 Haiti PDNA 2010. Encylclopaedia Britannica. 2010 Haiti earthquake, large-scale earthquake that occurred January 12, 2010, on the West Indian island of Hispaniola, comprising the countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. You may have experienced the common cold, but do you know what illness caused 20 million deaths in 1918? Earthquake survivors reaching for water being distributed by U.S. Navy personnel in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, January 16, 2010. The nations capital, Port-au-Prince, a densely populated city located about 15 miles from the quakes epicenter, suffered widespread devastation. The collapsed buildings defining the landscape of the disaster area came as a consequence of Haiti’s lack of building codes. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the impoverished country late Tuesday afternoon just outside Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The theoretical damage obtained with these functions shows 421. a better agreement with the observed damage in the moderate, extensive and complete 422. states. Critics noted, however, that the proposed financial scheme for the project hinged largely on previously promised monies not yet in hand. The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a very strong earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010. This impaired government efforts to restore order. Haiti is also vulnerable to damage from natural disasters because of deforestation. A 2016 report by the organization Doctors Without Borders claimed that cases of cholera had likely been significantly underreported. Political instability as also largely contributed to the continued existence of its humanitarian crisis. In consequence, it has hindered Haiti’s social and economic development. The many Haitians lacking Internet access were able to contribute updates via text messaging on mobile phones. In 2016, Hurricane Matthew set back rebuilding efforts. Similarly, Pham et al. Fig. A comprehensive atlas of all damage caused in Haiti by the magnitude 7.0 earthquake on 12 January 2010 is now available to help planning recovery and reconstruction measures. In 2010, the U.S. Congress extended the Caribbean Basin Trade Preference Agreement. Other than Leogane and Port-Au-Prince, the cities most affected by this earthquake were Petit Goave, Jacmel, Grand-Goave, Miragoane, and Les Cayes. The Léogâne fault, which cannot be observed at the surface, descends northward at an oblique angle away from the EPG fault system, and many geologists contend that the earthquake resulted from the slippage of rock upward across its plane of fracture. Though adoptions of Haitian children by foreign nationals—particularly in the United States—were expedited, the process was slowed by the efforts of Haitian and foreign authorities to ensure that the children did not have living relatives, as orphanages had often temporarily accommodated the children of the destitute. The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti in Jan. 12, 2010, left 220,000 people dead, 300,000 injured and rubble nearly everywhere. In October 2010, cases of cholera began to surface around the Artibonite River. This is the story of what really happened with the earthquake in Haiti. LiveScience. René Préval to defer legislative elections that had been scheduled for the end of February. In its aftermath, the authors, working with the Haitian Ministry of Public Works developed a comprehensive damage assessment and reconstruction program. President Bush had signed the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity Through Partnership Encouragement Act in 2006. Strong aftershocks hit the area within hours of the initial quake. An aerial view of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on January 13, 2010, from a U.S. Coast Guard aircraft, following the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that occurred the previous day. The 2010 Haiti earthquake (French: Séisme de 2010 à Haïti; Haitian Creole: Tranblemanntè 12 janvye 2010 nan peyi Ayiti) was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 M w earthquake, with an epicenter near the town of Léogâne, Ouest department, approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake shrank Haiti's gross domestic product by 5.1%. Hundreds of thousands of survivors were displaced. Of these, over one million were left homeless in the immediate aftermath. A field reconnaissance in Haiti by a five-member team with expertise in seismology and earthquake engineering has revealed a number of factors that led to catastrophic losses of life and property during the January 12, 2010, Mw 7.0 earthquake. The Haitian government’s official count was more than 300,000, but other … Two years later, though roughly half of the rubble littering Port-au-Prince had been cleared and some damaged residences had been made habitable, more than half a million people remained in tents, many of which had deteriorated significantly. Haiti’s Garment Industry: A Lost Cause, or Ready to Change? It is estimated that 60% of the nation’s administrative and economic infrastructure was lost, and 80% of the schools and more than 50% of the hospitals were destroyed or damaged (GOH 2010). Damage and losses from the earthquake were evaluated at $7.9 billion, according to the World Bank, though other estimates are higher. January 20: While multiple aftershocks are recorded soon after the initial quake, the U.S. Geological Service reports the strongest aftershock is a 5.9 temblor on January 20 that collapses many already damaged buildings. 423. : A magnitude-7.0 earthquake hits Haiti, on the island of Hispaniola, near Léogâne, about 16 miles west of the capital, Port-Au-Prince. The catastrophic earthquake caused damage and devastation in a country that was previously poor. In July 2018, a government announcement of the termination of subsidies led to protests and civil unrest. The announcement came after Ban received a report from a UN adviser who claimed that the epidemic “would not have broken out but for the actions of the United Nations.” In addition, the adviser urged the UN to provide compensation to the victims. 2010 Haiti earthquake, one finds a conspicuous band of severe damage along a foothill ridge in the Petionville district, south of central Port-au-Prince (Fig. The EPG fault system makes up a transform boundary that separates the Gonâve microplate—the fragment of the North American Plate upon which Haiti is situated—from the Caribbean Plate. The densely populated region around Port-au-Prince, located on the Gulf of Gonâve, was among those most heavily affected. The Haitian government’s official count was more than 300,000, but other estimates were considerably smaller. Executive Summary. The Balance uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. In the aftermath of the quake, efforts by citizens and international aid organizations to provide medical assistance, food, and water to survivors were hampered by the failure of the electric power system (which already was unreliable), loss of communication lines, and roads blocked with debris. Seven years later, 55,000 people still lived in the camps, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The U.N. also reported that 2.5 million Haitians needed humanitarian aid. Efforts to level the worst such buildings, some of which precariously gripped the rims of ravines, were hampered by irate residents who refused to leave. The shocks were felt throughout Haiti and the Dominican Republic as well as in parts of nearby Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. On April 21 it was announced that Martelly had won the election with some two-thirds of the vote. Also, Haiti must absorb the 250,000 of its citizens returning from the Dominican Republic. 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