Haiti 2010 - LEDC Earthquake

Question 1

Where is Haiti located?

Answer 1

Located in the Caribbean and forms the western part of the island of Hispaniola, with the Dominican Republic on the eastern side

Question 2

Where did the earthquake occur and what magnitude was it?

Answer 2

Occurred on the 12th January 2010 and was 7.0 on the Richter scale

Question 3

What caused the earthquake?

Answer 3

Caused by the movement of the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault system which has been building up pressure for over 250 years. The release of pressure at the focus caused a land movement of 1.8m

Question 4

What were the environmental impacts of this earthquake?

Answer 4

• 60% of the capital Port-au-Prince was destroyed
• 70% of buildings across Haiti had been destroyed
• Soil liquified into properties of water due to Love waves and Rayleigh waves

Question 5

What were the economic impacts of this earthquake?

Answer 5

• 1.5 million people homeless so cost a lot of money setting up shelters for everyone
• The cost of damage and losses was at least $8 billion
• Port was destroyed so no way for ships to transport goods to or from Haiti which resulted in a loss of income and lack of aid

Question 6

What were the social impacts of this earthquake?

Answer 6

• 230,000 deaths
• 6,900 deaths as a result of the outbreak of cholera
• 1.5 million homeless
• 4,000 amputees
• Lack of food and drink
• Roads and electricity were severely damaged

Question 7

What were the political impacts of this earthquake?

Answer 7

• Society angry at government for allowing prisoners to escape during earthquake
• Presidential Palace was destroyed by the earthquake
• President faced a loss of power as he was out of his depth in dealing with earthquake

Question 8

What were the short term responses of this earthquake?

Answer 8

• Buildings that had not collapsed were assessed to see whether they were safe and usable 21% red, 26% yellow and 54% green
• UV sent people over to Haiti to provide aid, food, water and shelter to the people who needed it most
• World Bank funded food for 200,000 children aged 6-23 as well as funding schools once repairs had been completed for 140,000 children

Question 9

What were the long term responses of this earthquake?

Answer 9

• World Bank cancelled half of Haiti’s debt and gave the country 5 years until 2015 before they had to start making repayments
• Relief appeal had raised over $1 billion as of a year after the disaster
• 95% of Haiti’s children who were in the earthquake zone were back in school in 2011