earthquake HAITI case study Flashcards
(16 cards)
when was it
2010
where was it
Haiti
epicentre was
25km away from capital
epicentre was where
in port au prince
magnitude
7
how many aftershocks of how much
52 measuring 4.5+
how many people affected
3.5 million
short term impacts
The primary hazard of the earthquake, the shaking ground, caused secondary hazards such as collapsing buildings, and food and water shortages due to the damage and disruption
Electricity supplies were disrupted
Roads were blocked (the main road between Port-au-Prince and Jacmel was still blocked
10 days after the earthquake)
The international airport was unusable due to control-tower damage
The public telephone system was knocked out, with no signal for mobile phones and no internet
long term impacts
People took sleeping to the streets, on pavements or in cars because their homes had been flattened, or they feared remaining buildings would collapse due to aftershocks Because of the lack of building regulations buildings are put up wherever they will fit in, without proper foundations
About 2 million Haitians live as squatters on land they do not own
Even before the earthquake Haiti suffered from shortages of fuel and drinking water After the quake there was major confusion, even though President Rene Preval and his ministers met with UN planners every day
A few days after the earthquake the government handed control of the airport to US authorities to try to speed up aid effort, but some aircraft with potentially life-saving supplies still had to be turned away.
Delays in aid distribution led to looting and occasional violence
response
Due to the port being damaged, aid was slow to arrive.
The USA sent rescue teams and 10,000 troops.
Bottled water and purification tablets were provided.
235,000 people were moved away from Port-au-Prince to less-damaged cities.
£20 million was donated by The UK government.
Why was this earthquake so deadly?
was only 25km away from port au prince and had a huge seismic force, creating a huge amount of chaos and damage.
how many people lived in the area
3.5 million people lived in area
What type of plate boundary caused the Haiti earthquake in 2010?
The Haiti earthquake occurred at a conservative (transform) plate boundary between the Caribbean Plate and the North American Plate.
How do the Caribbean and North American plates move relative to each other?
The Caribbean Plate moves east and the North American Plate moves west, with a relative movement of 20 mm per year.
Why was the Haiti earthquake so powerful?
The earthquake occurred along the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault, which had been locked for 250 years, causing stress to build up until it suddenly released in January 2010.
What were the key characteristics of the Haiti earthquake?
The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.0, with a 65 km rupture and 1 meter of slippage. The focus was 13 km deep, making it a shallow earthquake.
