by Margaret Mair

Created on: January 29, 2010

The January 12th earthquake in Haiti was very severe, and its impact on Haiti’s population even more so.  Its  magnitude of 7 on the Richter scale, the fact that it happened at a depth of 7 miles (the shallower the earthquake, the more severe the shaking) and that it was very close to heavily populated areas with buildings not constructed to withstand earthquakes all increased the enormity of its impact.  Then in the hours immediately after the initial quake there were six large aftershocks which further weakened structures and endangered people.

The earthquake happened on the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault, a fault line between two tectonic plates which are grinding together.  The energy which builds up as the plates grind is finally released as earthquakes.  We know that these earthquakes will happen, but unfortunately not exactly when and where they will occur.  The longer the time since the last major earthquake, the more like it is that one will occur; Haiti has not suffered such a large earthquake for more than one hundred years, a time well outside the memory of anyone living there now.  This lack of knowledge contributed to the huge and deadly impact of the earthquake when it finally did happen.

Already dangerous enough, the effect of the earthquake was made even worse by the social and economic conditions that already existed in the area.  These included:

A weak government that was unable or unwilling to establish and maintain safe building standards and oversee safe building practices, and lack of knowledge about earthquakes.  Many buildings were constructed with materials poorly suited for an area prone to earthquakes.  Most structures lacked framing and many were built from poured concrete slabs, some of them weakened by the addition of sand to the concrete to reduce the costs.  Others were built of cinder block.  This type of construction is very susceptible to damage from earthquakes.

Poverty, which led to people living in unsafe and unsanitary conditions in buildings which could not withstand natural disasters, compounded by a government lack of financial resources to establish a comprehensive policy that would create safe buildings for all to live in.  The slums of Port au Prince are made up of buildings cobbled together from materials like corrugated iron and cardboard, unable to withstand the forces of earthquakes or hurricanes.  

Lawlessness and violence that had hampered the establishment and maintenance of basic services, including health services, transportation, communication, sanitation and schools.  Infrastructure was already lacking, hospitals in poor condition, even before the earthquake happened, and what was functioning was very susceptible to damage.

Overcrowding in the cities and slums, where the  crowding increased both the extent of the damage as buildings collapsed on one another and the number of people who were affected.  
 
And finally there are the effects of previous natural disasters - in many places Haiti is still struggling to recover from the effects of a series of hurricanes in 2008.

All of this increased the severity of the damage, the risks to the people living where the earthquake struck, and the overall impact of an already very severe earthquake.

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