Haiti Earthquake

The January 12, 2010 Haiti Earthquake caused an enormous destruction in the Caribbean nation. Hospitals and government buildings collapsed along with an unbelievable amount of homes. Tens of thousands of people were killed, and many more were wounded. The disaster added more misery to people already struggling to get by with everyday life. Haiti is one of the poorest nations in the world. The January 12 quake demolished almost every major building in Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. About 5,000 schools in the city were destroyed or damaged. Throughout Haiti, more than 220,000 people were killed, and more than 1 million were left homeless. A few days after the quake, the number of survivors stood at 121 as hopes of finding more became unrealistic.The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately 25 km (16 miles) west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.[6][7]

By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater had been recorded.[8] An estimated three million people were affected by the quake;[9] the Haitian government reported that an estimated 316,000 people had died, 300,000 had been injured and 1,000,000 made homeless.[10][11] The death toll has also been suggested to be much lower at somewhere between 92,000[4] and 220,000, with around 1.5 million[12] to 1.8 million homeless.[13] The government of Haiti also estimated that 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged.[14]

The earthquake caused major damage in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and other settlements in the region. Many notable landmark buildings were significantly damaged or destroyed, including the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly building, the Port-au-Prince Cathedral, and the main jail. Among those killed were Archbishop of Port-au-Prince Joseph Serge Miot,[15] and