Humanitarian Response to Natural Disaster: The 2010 Haiti Earthquake (in English)
Synopsis "Humanitarian Response to Natural Disaster: The 2010 Haiti Earthquake (in English)"
The 2010 Haiti Earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicenter near the town of Léogâne (Ouest), approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater had been recorded. An estimated three million people were affected by the quake. Death toll estimates range from 100,000 to about 160,000 to Haitian government figures from 220,000 to 316,000 that have been widely characterized as deliberately inflated by the Haitian government. The government of Haiti estimated that 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged. There has been a history of national debt, prejudicial trade policies by other countries, and foreign intervention into national affairs that contributed to the pre-existing poverty and poor housing conditions that exacerbated the death toll. Long Term Effect of Humanitarian Response As of 2015, 5 years after the earthquake, over 500,000 victims were still living in temporary shelters without electricity, plumbing or sewage. Lack of proper sanitation is thought to be the foundation upon which the ongoing cholera outbreak is based. Much of the US aid funding was hindered by US statutory restrictions limiting spending to US products, materials and employees, which had to be transported to Haiti. This not only raised the costs involved, compared to local, but also prevented the aid from stimulating the Haitian economy.
