Haiti Earthquake

Why was it so bad?

Where is Haiti and where was the epicentre?

What caused the earthquake to happen?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsJhijLJB1s&feature=player_embedded

Causes• Caribbean and N.American plates were

moving past each other.• Conservative plate boundary – the 2

plates were sliding past each other. • Occurred along a fault that runs through

Haiti.• Scientists had a good idea that this

earthquake was going to happen BUT they didn’t know the date it would occur.

• The earthquake was 7.3 on the Richter Scale.

Moment magnitude compared2004 Asian tsunami earthquake: 9.3 2005 Kashmir earthquake: 7.62008 Sichuan earthquake: 7.9

Over 3 million Haitians live in the

area which experienced very strong, or worse, ground shaking

A poor neighbourhood shows the damage after an earthquake

measuring 7 plus on the Richter scale rocked Port au Prince,

Haiti just before 5 pm January 12, 2010

WHO was affected?UPDATE 1 - Saturday, 16 January 2010: "We have already collected around 50,000 dead bodies," Paul Antoine Bien-Aime, Haiti's interior minister told Reuters. "We anticipate there will be between 100,000 and 200,000 dead in total, although we will never know the exact number." UPDATE 2 - Monday, 18 January 2010: The leading US general in Haiti has said it is a "reasonable assumption" that up to 200,000 people may have died. Rescuers pulled more people alive from the rubble at the weekend, but at least 70,000 people have already had burials.

UPDATE 3 - Wednesday, 10 February 2010: Haiti's government says around 230,000 people died in last month's earthquake, 18,000 more than its previous estimate. The toll from the 12 January quake is approaching that of the 2004 Asian tsunami, which killed 250,000 people.

Economic effects• Lost tourism.• Cost the country at least 15% of its GDP (gross

domestic product – money)• The demand for products exported to Haiti

dropped due to lack of payment. • To rebuild they estimated it would cost

$14billion. • Charity money was given to the Haiti appeal and

credit card charges were dropped.• Loss of trade.• Rebuilding will take years.

Social effects• In 60 seconds at least 100,000 people were said to be dead. • In the following months there was an outbreak of cholera,

which can mean death.• There were lots of diseases spread.• Loss of education as schools were destroyed.• Around 1 million people were left homeless• Some children were orphaned and had to look after their

siblings.• Possible mental illness or stress caused by earthquake.• Rise in crime – amount of rapes has increased. • 100,000 – 200,000 people died and 3 million people were

affected.• Many children were orphaned and left to care for their

siblings.• Many people lost everything they had and had nowhere to

go.

Environmental effects• Deforestation reduced the forest cover from 60%

to less than 2%. There was more soil erosion and this led to flooding.

• There was nowhere to put the rubble and damaged buildings.

• There were chemical and oil leaks. • Loss of habitats, due to deforestation. • There are now campaigns to grow trees in Haiti. • Renewable energy resources have been

suggested to help the country rebuild. • The biggest issue is building waste – 40-50% of

the buildings fell in Port-au-Prince & nearby towns.

• Haiti lost 98% of its forest cover.

Why has the death toll been so high?

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOQaANsfOxA&feature=player_embedded - Science Shows Why Haiti Is Prone To Earthquakes

Haiti – the country

• Haiti's Level of Development

• How has History played a role in the problem? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttqexOlqhWM&feature=player_embedded

• Haiti beset by series of natural disasters - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK9ITxQOITg&feature=player_embedded

• What is a multiple hazard location? • How might the fact that Haiti is a multiple hazard

location have impacted the death toll negatively and positively?

Why was the Haitian Earthquake so deadly?