Earthquake in Haiti - 12 January 2010, 16:53 locoal time, 7.0 magnitude

Question 1

Background info - Haiti is the western part of Hispaniola

Answer 1

• 12 Jan 2010 16:53 7.0 magnitude - occured 25 kilometres south west of Port-au-prince
• depth = 13km
• aftershocks were as strong as 5.9

-1/3 of the population were affected
-300,000 people died, 250,000 more were injured
1 million homeless

Question 2

Why is Hispaniola a hazardous place

Answer 2

-sits on the Gonave mocroplate - small strip of the earths crust squeezed between North American and carribean plates

The Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault had been accumulating stress for over a century

Two things magnified its power: the epicentre being 25km south west of port au prince and its focus was only 13km from surface

Question 3

Why is the region ill suited and what were the responses after

Answer 3

• port au princes 2 million residents live in tin-roofed shacks on steep ravines - the mayor said that 60% of the buildings were shodily built
• REd cross estimated that 3 million people - a third of Haiti’s population - might need emergency aid
• Seven days later the UN managed to get food to around only 200,000 people
• venezuela, china UK pledged to help
• UN released $10 million from it’s emergency fund, European countries pledged 13.7 million dollars

Question 4

What HAPPENED after

Answer 4

plans were discussed for the rehabilitation, rescue and reconstruction of the country

since 2000, more than $4 billion has been given to Haiti but mismanagement, a lack of coordination and global institutions using Hait as an economic test bed have frustrated all efforts

A foreign debt of $1.5 billion has weighed down the economy