haiti Earthquake-(MEDC)
On Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 21:53:10 UTC a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti at a depth of 8.1 miles. The epicenter was located 15 miles WSW of Port-Au-Prince.
The earthquake was caused by the North American Plate sliding past the Caribbean Plate at a conservative/transform fault called the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone. The North American plate is moving west relative to the eastward-moving Caribbean plate.
Tectonic Hazard impacts
Social Impacts
Immediate impacts caused by the Haiti Earthquake were 220,000 people estimated to have died, 300,000+ people were injured, many people lost children, parents and siblings. Over 188,383 homes were badly damaged and 105,000 were completely destroyed by the earthquake (293,383 in total), because of this approximately 1.5 million people became homeless. At its peak, one and a half million people were living in camps including over 100,000 at critical risk from storms and flooding.Transport and communication links were also badly damaged by the earthquake, allowing no contact to family members. 1 in 5 people lost their jobs because so many buildings were destroyed. Over 2 million people were left without food and water. October 2010 there began an outbreak of Cholera. By July 2011 5,899 had died as a result of the outbreak, and 216,000 were infected. By 2011 many people were still living in makeshift homes and the number of new cholera cases registered per month dropped from 84,391 in November 2010 to 13,419 in October 2011.
Immediate impacts caused by the Haiti Earthquake were 220,000 people estimated to have died, 300,000+ people were injured, many people lost children, parents and siblings. Over 188,383 homes were badly damaged and 105,000 were completely destroyed by the earthquake (293,383 in total), because of this approximately 1.5 million people became homeless. At its peak, one and a half million people were living in camps including over 100,000 at critical risk from storms and flooding.Transport and communication links were also badly damaged by the earthquake, allowing no contact to family members. 1 in 5 people lost their jobs because so many buildings were destroyed. Over 2 million people were left without food and water. October 2010 there began an outbreak of Cholera. By July 2011 5,899 had died as a result of the outbreak, and 216,000 were infected. By 2011 many people were still living in makeshift homes and the number of new cholera cases registered per month dropped from 84,391 in November 2010 to 13,419 in October 2011.
Economical Impacts
The earthquake destroyed over 30,000 buildings and due to this 1 in 5 people lost their jobs because so many buildings were destroyed. Haiti’s largest industry, clothing was one of the worst affected. Over 2 million people were left without food and water, and thus looting became a serious problem. The earthquake resulted in 105,000 homes being destroyed, causing $2.3 billion in damage and the nation being covered in rubble. New homes would need to be built to a higher standard, costing billions of dollars.Large-scale investment was needed to bring Haiti's road, electricity, water and telephone systems up to standard, and to rebuild the port. At this point Haiti’s economy still lies in the hands of foreign nation’s giving aid, and is at a slow recover to generating revenue of its own.
The earthquake destroyed over 30,000 buildings and due to this 1 in 5 people lost their jobs because so many buildings were destroyed. Haiti’s largest industry, clothing was one of the worst affected. Over 2 million people were left without food and water, and thus looting became a serious problem. The earthquake resulted in 105,000 homes being destroyed, causing $2.3 billion in damage and the nation being covered in rubble. New homes would need to be built to a higher standard, costing billions of dollars.Large-scale investment was needed to bring Haiti's road, electricity, water and telephone systems up to standard, and to rebuild the port. At this point Haiti’s economy still lies in the hands of foreign nation’s giving aid, and is at a slow recover to generating revenue of its own.
Environmental Impacts
Large amounts of waste of all kinds is building up and ruining the environment. Medical waste: Emergency response operations are generating a very large amount of medical waste, which is piling up in hospitals and medical treatment centers. No systems or equipment are yet in place to dispose of these potentially hazardous materials. Rubble and demolition material: The volume of demolition waste generated by recovery and reconstruction operations has yet to be technically estimated, but will be in tens of millions of tons. The Earthquake has also whittled the amount of forestry to a small 2 percent. This lack of trees causes huge soil erosion problems, threatening both food and clean water sources for thousands of hungry and thirsty people.
Large amounts of waste of all kinds is building up and ruining the environment. Medical waste: Emergency response operations are generating a very large amount of medical waste, which is piling up in hospitals and medical treatment centers. No systems or equipment are yet in place to dispose of these potentially hazardous materials. Rubble and demolition material: The volume of demolition waste generated by recovery and reconstruction operations has yet to be technically estimated, but will be in tens of millions of tons. The Earthquake has also whittled the amount of forestry to a small 2 percent. This lack of trees causes huge soil erosion problems, threatening both food and clean water sources for thousands of hungry and thirsty people.