Haiti (2010)

Question 1

Where was the earthquake’s epicenter and what magnitude was it?

Answer 1

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake, with a very shallow focus, and an epicenter close to the capital Port-au-Prince.

Question 2

Context

Answer 2

HDI: 0.510
Poorest country in the western hemisphere.

Government spend their limited resources on immediate issues, instead of earthquake preparation. People do not have resources to cope with the effects of an earthquake.

Government officials, police, emergency services, and Haitians didn’t know what to do when the earthquake struck.

Question 3

Dynamic Pressures

Answer 3

Lack of disaster preparation and management systems.
Lack of effective education.
High population density, with rapid urbanisation and slum-like housing conditions.

Question 4

Unsafe Conditions

Answer 4

Soft soil amplified seismic waves, increasing ground shaking.
Lots of illegal housing in unsafe areas.
Buildings were vulnerable, built poor quality.
Poor infrastructure limited access to people.

Question 5

Root Causes

Answer 5

Haitian government was heavily indebted, had to spend lots of money repaying debt instead of improving infrastructure.
Extensive corrpution.
80% of the population lived below the poverty line.
30-40% of government’s budget came from foreign aid.

Question 6

Social impacts

Answer 6

At least 200,000 dead and missing
300,000 injuries.
1.3 million people made homeless

Question 7

Economic impacts

Answer 7

Cost $14 billion.

Question 8

Impacts

Answer 8

Over a quarter of government officials were killed, key government buildings were destroyed, so organisation was even worse.

Liquefacation caused building structures to sink, ground shaking caused lots of building collapse.

Access to Haiti became tricky as its limited transport infrastructure was damaged, so rescue efforts were slow and foreign aid was restricted.

Cholera broke out, lasting until 2019, which killed over 300,000 people in the time.

Question 9

Responses

Answer 9

Was still suffering in 2015, 80,000 people still lived in camps or temporary housing.

Although $13 billion of aid had been donated, the Haitian government and Haitian organisations controlled less than 10%. This was due to IGOs being distrustful of Haiti’s governments reliablity.

Although progress was slow, schools, buildings, and roads have been built; and health statistics have improved.

Question 10

What happened in 2012?

Answer 10

Hurricane Sandy was heading towards Haiti, and the government was able to respond and warn citizens to get to higher ground - which saved lives.
After the storm, the government took a leading role in organising international aid.
This arguably shows an improvement in the Haitian government following the 2011 earthquake - but their economy still struggles to this day.