CASE STUDY: Haiti – 12th January 2010
Background
• Small Caribbean country, on island of Hispaniola part of Dominican Republic island
• The poorest country in the western hemisphere, based on HDI
• Politically unstable
• Capital, Port-au-Prince
• $GDP per capita = $697
• 7.0 magnitude earthquake
• Epicentre was 25km west of the capital Port-au-Prince
• Depth: 13km
Primary effects
• 316,000 deaths
• 300,000 people injured
• 250,000 dwellings destroyed or badly damaged
• Electricity Supplies Damaged
• Hospitals destroyed
• Main prison destroyed so 4,000 inmates escaped
• Key government buildings destroyed
• Roads blocked
Secondary effects
• decaying corpses left in the rubble, leading to disease
• People sleeping in the streets as they feared the effects of aftershocks on
damaged buildings
• Cholera outbreak due to poor sanitation
• 500,000 people still living rough when rainy season began in March
• 3,000 temporary tent schools set up
• Fuel and water shortages
• looting and violence
Foreign aid
• Early rescue work done by Haitians and by teams from the Dominican Republic
• Rescue teams and financial aid came from all over the world
Continuing problems
• 500,000 survivors sleeping rough and 500,000 more were crowded into make-shift camps
• Rain to trigger mudslides and disease outbreaks
• The UN increased its relief appeal to US$1.44bn
• The UN aimed to distribute durable plastic tarpaulins to 1,500 families a day
Extra Notes:
Background
• Small Caribbean country, on island of Hispaniola part of Dominican Republic island
• The poorest country in the western hemisphere, based on HDI
• Politically unstable
• Capital, Port-au-Prince
• $GDP per capita = $697
• 7.0 magnitude earthquake
• Epicentre was 25km west of the capital Port-au-Prince
• Depth: 13km
Primary effects
• 316,000 deaths
• 300,000 people injured
• 250,000 dwellings destroyed or badly damaged
• Electricity Supplies Damaged
• Hospitals destroyed
• Main prison destroyed so 4,000 inmates escaped
• Key government buildings destroyed
• Roads blocked
Secondary effects
• decaying corpses left in the rubble, leading to disease
• People sleeping in the streets as they feared the effects of aftershocks on
damaged buildings
• Cholera outbreak due to poor sanitation
• 500,000 people still living rough when rainy season began in March
• 3,000 temporary tent schools set up
• Fuel and water shortages
• looting and violence
Foreign aid
• Early rescue work done by Haitians and by teams from the Dominican Republic
• Rescue teams and financial aid came from all over the world
Continuing problems
• 500,000 survivors sleeping rough and 500,000 more were crowded into make-shift camps
• Rain to trigger mudslides and disease outbreaks
• The UN increased its relief appeal to US$1.44bn
• The UN aimed to distribute durable plastic tarpaulins to 1,500 families a day
Extra Notes:
