Haiti January 12th, 2010

The Haitian earthquake of January 12th 2010 was about ten times stronger in magnitude that the L’Aquila earthquake of 2009, scoring 7.0 on the Richter scale. It had been the worst earthquake in two centuries in Haiti, and within minutes, the capital Port-au-Prince, and its nearby towns came crumbling down. The quake was followed by two aftershocks of 5.5 and 5.9 magnitude, and was said to have affected as much as 3 million people (casualties, and injuries). Aids were soon sent to Haiti from worldwide organizations.

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Americas, with 80% of its population living on less than $2 a day- ‘jobs are scarce, public services woeful, and corruption rife’. Even before the disaster of the 12th of January, 2010, Haiti was a wretched LEDC. With such a poor economic situation, no earthquake prevention measures had been emplaced in Haiti before the disaster. The little infrastructure of Port au Prince was poorly built of non-earthquake resistant materials, a lot of it remaining from the French Colonial rule, dating back to the 19th century. Other than that, people lived in self-made huts and houses- generally consisting of materials such as bricks and concrete, and in the even poorer parts of the city, wood, straw, stones, and bits of scrap metal.   These homes were damaged multiple times during the hurricanes that had recently hit Haiti, but were completely destroyed by the set of quakes that hit the town in January last year. Many died in the crumbling of their homes, and millions were left homeless. Farms were also destroyed during the earthquake- crops ruined, animals killed. Farming was a source of income, and a home to about 2 thirds of Haiti’s population. They were also a source of food, but once destroyed, feeding oneself became even more of a struggle for Haitians.

The UN, various NGOs, church groups and other aid/support groups have been donating food, money, and shelter to the people of Haiti for the past year. Although they’ve... [continues]

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