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Connor Judd
GEOG 1700
5 March 2013
Disaster Waiting to Happen
On typical Haitian afternoon, the sun beat down on the tin roofs and dirt
roads. Haitians performed their daily chores and continued with a normal day’s
work. As the clock struck 4:53 pm an extraordinary event took place. Buildings
began to sway. Ripples formed in the glass of water that sat on the table. The
shaking became more vigorous and violent. A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck
Haiti in Léogâne, about 10 miles West of the capital city, Port-au-Prince, home of
almost 900,000 Haitians. The difficult life in Haiti got worse after an earthquake
rocked the country for 35 seconds.
The Quake struck on January 12, 2010 at approximately 4:53 pm. It struck at
18.443 degrees North and 72.571 degrees West. Haiti is prone to tectonic activity
being in the boundary of two tectonic plates, the North American plate and the
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Caribbean plate. This plate boundary is dominated by left-lateral strike slip motion
and compression. The tectonic activity accommodates about 20 millimeters slip per
year with the Caribbean plate moving eastward with respect to the North America
plate. The movement in this part of the North America and Caribbean plate
boundary is divided by two major systems, the Septentrional fault system in the
north and the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault system in the south. A catastrophic
earthquake in this region was long overdue. Before the January 2010 quake no
major earthquake had been recorded since 1860, 1770, and 1751 all of which had
effects around Port-au-Prince.
When the earthquake was finished and the damaged had been done the
country was struck by multiple aftershocks. 59 aftershocks of a magnitude 4.5 or
greater were recorded. Sixteen of which had a magnitude of 5.0 or greater. A 6.0
magnitude aftershock struck about 7 minutes after the first big quake. Another 6.0
magnitude aftershock struck 35 miles west of Port-au-Prince 8 days after the initial
big quake. Many Haitians anticipated an aftershock and made preparations by
sleeping outside. The powerful tremor shook buildings and brought terror to the
country once again.
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A very poor country, a highly populated Port-au-Prince and poorly built
structures created the ideal recipe for disaster. With the epicenter being so close to
Haiti’s largest city and the focal point near the earth’s surface devastation was
unavoidable. The earthquake affected about 3 million people. After the quake many
reports of the death toll were given ranging anywhere from 92,000 to 230,000. But
on January 12, 2011, one year after the disaster, Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max
Bellerive said the death toll from the quake reached over 316,000. Beside those
who were killed and additional 300,000 plus were injured, about one and a half
million people were homeless left to living in camps, shelters, or with host families.
Before the earthquake 86% of people in Port-au-Prince were living in slum
conditions: tightly packed, poorly built, concrete buildings. After the quake there
were 19 million cubic meters of rubble and debris in Port-au-Prince. This is enough
debris to fill a line of shipping containers end to end from London to Beirut. The
total estimated cost of the damages from the earthquake range from $7.2 billion to
$13.2 billion. The earthquake that struck Haiti is said to be the biggest disaster in
modern history. Over 188,383 homes were badly damaged and 105,000 homes
were destroyed totaling 293,383 homes. 4,000 schools were damaged or destroyed.
60% of government and administrative buildings, 80% of schools in Port-au-Prince
were damaged or destroyed. Most of the hospitals collapsed in and surrounding
Port-au-Prince. The control tower at the Toussaint L’Ouverture International
Airport was destroyed and the Port-au-Prince seaport was damaged and rendered
unusable creating difficulties for rescue operations.
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Analyzing the Disaster in Haiti
Although earthquakes are not completely predictable forecasts could have
been made about this earthquake. Considering that the Enriquillo fault, a once very
active fault producing huge quakes in 1751, 1770, and 1860, had not produced a
large quake in over 100 years should have been a sign. The tectonic plates in the
Enriquillo fault, which are always moving, were bound to make a large shift causing
the detrimental earthquake, which so badly crippled Haiti and it’s people. Because
of the social, political and economic conditions in Haiti a warning system was
difficult. With the use of GPS to monitor plate movement, scientists knew stress was
building and an earthquake would be produced. Scientist made known the risk of
an earthquake but implementing a mitigation plan was difficult in the poverty
stricken circumstances.
I feel that with the knowledge that scientists had more immediate attention
should have been placed upon the buildings and structures especially in the heavily
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populated Port-au-Prince. Measures should have been taken to support and
stabilize important structures such as, hospitals, schools, government buildings and
seaports. If such buildings and structures didn’t take such an extreme blow in the
earthquake many lives may have been saved and the outcome may have been much
different. The next step I would have taken in mitigation is to educate the people.
Start with simple procedures and precautions to take when an earthquake strikes
such as: safe places to retreat, creating family plans, setting aside fresh drinking
water, and simple medical procedures. These modest guidelines may have also
helped to save lives when the disaster struck.
After the earthquake struck creating mass amounts of structural damage and
causing thousands of casualties, many were left displaced or homeless. The
displaced Haitians were placed into camps with many people living in close
quarters. Disease was bound to happen. In October 2010, about ten months after
the earthquake, a cholera epidemic broke out. The epidemic is thought to have been
caused by a foreign aid worker also carrying the disease. With the lack of fresh,
clean water and no proper sanitation, cholera spread. It killed an estimated 3,333
people by the end of 2010 at a rate of about 50 deaths a day. Time magazine
speculated the situation and said, “It is one of the poorest countries on earth, with
only 1 in every 50 Haitians holding a steady job. No Haitian city has a public sewage
system, and less than half the population has any access to drinking-water services.
Malnutrition is rampant, nearly 200,000 people live with HIV or AIDS, and just half
the childhood population is vaccinated against basic diseases like diphtheria. The
quake will make it all unimaginably worse. "Haiti is not anywhere near ready to take
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care of itself," says Dr. Alina Dorian, the assistant director of the University of
California, Los Angeles, Center for Public Health and Disasters. "They are already so
vulnerable."
Poor building codes and standards can be attributed to a very large portion
of the casualties in the Haiti earthquake. Because the buildings and structures were
built so poorly when the ground started shaking everything began to topple. People
being caught in collapsing structures or being struck by falling debris were huge
factors in casualties. Poverty in Haiti caused vulnerability. I feel that 50 years ago a
7.0 earthquake may not have been as disastrous as the one that struck in 2010. 50
years ago there were not as many people living in Port-au-Prince and Haiti was
better off financially. These two factors proved to play a big part on how the
earthquake affected this country.
I feel that where possible structures and buildings need to be built to resist
earthquakes such as this. The government or project managers should seek to
improve the most important facilities first being: hospitals, water housing units,
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ports for international transportation, buildings that could be used as refuge and
government buildings including schools. By reinforcing these structures the
country can be assured that the worst-case scenario will not occur, rather they will
be prepared when disaster strikes. In areas that are poverty-stricken and money is
tight, the people need to be educated on how to act when a disaster strikes to keep
everyone unified and on the same level. I feel that educating the people will help
relieve the stress on the government when a disaster occurs.
It is hard to see the benefits from any natural disaster and especially the in
the Haiti earthquake. I think the world benefited from this disaster because many
countries came together to help Haiti. I also think that individual communities can
take this as a warning as to what can happen when a community is unprepared for a
natural disaster. In conclusion I know this event created tons of opportunity for
strangers to offer service and donations to the Haitians. I think that those
individuals who were able to serve the Haitians benefitted the most by feeling the
joy of helping your fellow man.
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Reflective Writing
When given this assignment I promptly decided to report on the
earthquake in Haiti. This natural disaster occurred at an emotional time in my life. I
can vividly remember sitting on the couch with my mother watching the news
almost in tears for these poor and helpless people. I remember hearing stories from
kids who had lost their parents and stories from parents who had lost their kids.
This incident helped me to realize how these events are real, and that a natural
disaster could affect my family at any time. As I was preparing and studying this
event for this assignment I felt many of those same feelings that I felt before. I was
very emotional as I looked through the hundreds of pictures of destroyed homes,
mangled bodies and crying children. I also felt a strong feeling of gratitude for what
I have and what lifestyle I was born into. It is reassuring to hear on the news that
the government buildings, hospitals and schools are being renovated or
reconstructed to withstand natural disasters such as earthquakes. It is also
comforting to know that the schools are running earthquake drills to educate and
prepare children on how to act when an earthquake strikes. While writing the
analysis portion of this paper I also couldn’t help but to wonder to myself if I am
prepared for a natural disaster. I also got my mom involved and we were able to
remind our family how to act if an earthquake were to strike. I also felt a bit guilty
after reading so much about the rescue efforts that so many strangers provided to
help the Haitians. I would also like to get involved in some type of service group
where I may have the opportunity to offer my skills and talents to those in need. In
conclusion I feel that I have benefitted from studying and learning about the
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earthquake in Haiti. I feel love and sorrow for those people and all that they have
endured and I hope that we can all come together as a global community and
continue to help those who are in need.
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Works Cited
Bye, Bente L. "The Haiti Earthquake: Science, Early Warning And Mitigation." The
Haiti Earthquake: Science, Early Warning And Mitigation. Science 2.0, 08 Feb.
2010. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.
<http://www.science20.com/planetbye/haiti_earthquake_science_early_war
ning_and_mitigation-64381>.
Frei, Matt. "Haiti Earthquake: Thousands Feared Dead." BBC News. BBC, 13 Jan.
2010. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8456819.stm>.
Forsloff, Carl. "Diseases Likely Problem for Haitian Earthquake Survivors." Diseases
Likely Problem for Haitian Earthquake Survivors. Digital Journal, 19 Jan. 2010.
Web. 01 Mar. 2013. <http://digitaljournal.com/article/286036>.
"Haiti Earthquake 2010." Haiti Earthquake 2010. Thomson Reuters Foundation, 14
Mar. 2012. Web. 01 Mar. 2013. <http://www.trust.org/alertnet/crisiscentre/crisis/haiti-earthquake-2010>.
"Haiti Earthquake Facts and Figures." Haiti Earthquake Facts and Figures. Reliefweb,
05 Jan. 2011. Web. 05 Mar. 2013. <http://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/haitiearthquake-facts-and-figures>.
Lacey, Marc. "Estimates of Quake Damage In Haiti Increase by Billions." The New
York Times. The New York Times, 17 Feb. 2010. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/17/world/americas/17haiti.html?_r=0
>.
"Magnitude 7.0 - HAITI REGION." Magnitude 7.0 - HAITI REGION. USGS, n.d. Web. 03
Mar. 2013.
<http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010rja
6.php>.
News, CBC. "Why Haiti's Quake Was so Devastating." CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada,
13 Jan. 2010. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2010/01/13/f-earthquakedevastation-comparison.html>.