Earthquake Case Study – LEDC – Haiti - 12th January 2010

* Haiti is a small island located in the Caribbean, South East of the USA and East of Cuba. Its capital city is Port-au-Prince and the country had a population of 9.9million.

Development Levels

Development Indicator | Value | GDP Per Capita | $1200 | People in Poverty | 80% on less than $2 a day | Life Expectancy | 62 years | People per doctor | 0.25 per 1,000 people | Access to clean water | 46% have access. |

The Earthquake

* The North American plate sliding past the Caribbean plate at a conservative plate margin caused the earthquake. Both plates move in the same direction but one moves faster than the other which was what caused the pressure to build up as the there was a great amount of friction. * When this pressure was released it caused a magnitude 7 earthquake on the Richter scale with an epicentre 16 miles west of Port-Au-Prince and a shallow focus of 5 miles on Tuesday 12th January 2010.

Primary | Secondary | 316,000 killed and 1 million made homeless. 3 million affected. | 1 in 5 survivors lost their jobs because many buildings were destroyed. Haiti’s largest industry (clothing) was one of the worst affected. | 250,000 homes and 30,000 buildings destroyed including the Palace and 60% of government buildings. | The large number of deaths meant that hospitals and morgues because full and this meant that bodies had to be then piled up on the streets of the city. | Transport and communication links were badly damaged | The large number of bodies on the streets then led to airborne and waterborne diseases. Cholera became the most evident problem. | Over 50 hospitals and 1300 schools badly damaged, as was the airport’s control tower. | It was difficult getting into the area as the airport’s control tower was destroyed and generally poor management of the situation. | The main prison was destroyed and 4,000 inmates escaped. | People were squashed into slums or onto the streets because their homes had been destroyed, leading to poor sanitation and heath. Looting also became a big problem. |
Responses

Short Term | Long Term | $100 million in aid given by the USA and $330 million given by the European Union. | 98% of the rubble on the roads hadn’t been cleared some time after which meant that it was restricting access in and out for aid and emergency services trying to help. | 810,000 people placed in aid camps run by NGOs and governmental organisations together. | 1 million people were still without homes after one year meaning that they still had to live in aid camps provided which were effectively just tents. | 115,000 tents and 1,000,000+ tarpaulin shelters provided | Support for people without jobs which equates to nearly 70 per cent of the population through cash and food for work projects, trying to execute a long term self help scheme. | Healthcare supplies provided in order to limit the spread of diseases, which was becoming a very large problem. | Temporary schools created and new teachers were trained, either from the population or international. A lot of international help also to increase the development level of the country. | There was a lack in immediate aid through poor planning, management and access that meant that people had to try and rescue each other which in itself caused many problems | Water and sanitation eventually supplied for 1.7 million people. | 4.3 million people provided with food and water rations in the following weeks, which were all supplied by international charities such as the Red Cross. | |