Major earthquake in Haiti

A major earthquake in Haiti in 2010 was the biggest disaster of the 21st century. Pictures from the scene are horrifying and today - most of the capital of Port-au-Prince was in ruins. Not only were houses destroyed, but almost all hospitals, several Ministry buildings, a cathedral, the National Palace and the Christophe hotel, where representatives of the UN mission in Port-au-Prince lived. Despite the relatively small localization, the devastating consequences and the number of victims of the earthquake can be considered one of the most global disasters of the last century.

Fatal day for the capital of Haiti - Port-au-Prince

The earthquake in Haiti occurred on January 12, 2010. The epicenter of the disaster was located only fifteen kilometers from the capital of the island - Port-au-Prince, and the central point of the earthquake focus was at a depth of thirteen kilometers. As a result of activity at the junction of the Caribbean and North American lithospheric plates, the main impact was registered with a magnitude of 7 on the Richter scale and many repeated ones, the power of 15 of which was more than 5 points.

In the city lived almost a third of the population of the state, so that a major catastrophe was a serious blow to Haiti.

The tragic situation did not end with the earthquake itself and with the elimination of the consequences of the natural disaster. Social catastrophes, lack of funding and other misfortunes became chronic for the island, and it took more than two years for the capital to return to a more or less normal life.

The first data on the disaster in Haiti

The earthquake in Haiti for a long time became the main topic of most international media for a week after the incident. The president of the affected state made his first statement regarding the disaster the day after the earthquake. René Préval said that, according to preliminary data, about 30 thousand people became victims of the natural disaster. The Prime Minister of Haiti voiced a large figure - about 100 thousand dead or more.

Start of rescue operations

On January 12, an earthquake struck Haiti, rescue operations began immediately and the first few hours were carried out exclusively by the internal forces of the state. There was only one hospital, where the military, doctors and surviving citizens took the wounded and the dead. The BBC correspondent, who was on the scene, said that the corpses were stacked right in the corridors of the hospital or on the sidewalks, and seriously wounded people were waiting for doctors' help for hours.

First aid began to arrive in Haiti on 13 January. About 37 countries, including Russia, sent teams of rescuers, medicines, food and other essential goods to the island. Later, several more states joined them. The wounded began to be transported by helicopters to Santo Domingo, the capital of the neighboring Dominican Republic. The beginning of the rescue work was hindered by the fact that the infrastructure of the island was destroyed by the earthquake: the port was badly damaged, the ships were unloaded, there was not enough fuel for refueling, the airport could not cope with the influx of aircraft and helicopters, the roads were filled with piles of debris, refugees, dead and wounded .

On January 15, the corpses began to be removed from the streets by bulldozers. The earthquake in Haiti (photo in the first days after the incident above) provoked a humanitarian disaster. The three million people who were left homeless, lacked food and clean water, many died of hunger, thirst and unsanitary conditions. Warehouses, shops and government buildings were looted, anarchy reigned in the city, incidents of looting were documented.

Information about the victims and victims

On January 16 it became known that about 140 thousand people died from the catastrophe, most of the population of the capital remained without housing and food. On the same day, the President of Haiti stated that 40-50 thousand people had already been buried in mass graves, and the total number of victims could reach 200 thousand. According to various estimates, up to 50% of buildings in the capital have been destroyed, among them government buildings, hospitals, central prison. Haiti after the earthquake swept panic and anarchy, there were armed groups of marauders. The rescue work and the delivery of humanitarian aid were still complicated by disruptions, communication problems, uncoordinated actions between different groups and problems with the supply of fuel.

International assistance and humanitarian aid delivery

First, groups of military, rescue and medical personnel were sent to Haiti to save people from the rubble and provide medical assistance. The assistance was rendered not only by the governments of many states, but also by certain famous personalities, large companies and organizations.

International cooperation, which in the early days was not coordinated, largely helped save most of the survivors of hunger, looting and unsanitary conditions. But the problems with the delivery of humanitarian aid were colossal, even if we do not take into account the destroyed infrastructure. A humanitarian catastrophe has taken place in Haiti : huge queues line up for products, medicines, fuel and other basic necessities, looting flourishes.

Disorders caused by disruptions in the supply of food

The earthquake in Haiti caused mass riots and a real anarchy that lasted several weeks in the capital. People spent the night in the streets, beware of repeated jolts, from the rubble for several days the cries of the wounded were heard, and the dead were simply piled on the roadside. The rescue was complicated by a panic. In addition, the belief in magic and witchcraft is widespread among the island's population: a local voodoo priest a few days after the disaster said that corpses buried in mass graves will soon come to life. Of course, the psychological state of the population has significantly deteriorated from such a statement by a respected person.

On January 19, the US armed forces took control of the central region of the capital, where the earthquake happened. In Haiti, the catastrophe demanded a settlement, otherwise more people might die. Theft and armed attacks reached unprecedented levels.

Accusations against the US in the invasion of Haiti

During the rescue operations, the US paratroopers, as already mentioned, took control of the presidential palace area (the president himself and the administration worked in a police station near the airport). France then accused the US of the occupation of Haiti and demanded from the United Nations to explain to the United States the powers of their military in the disaster zone. The representative of US forces in response said that it was not about the occupation, but about the rescue operation. The situation was resolved successfully, because Haiti still needed active international assistance to resolve the situation, and its own doctors, rescuers and military were not enough.

Repeated earthquake

Nine days after the devastating disaster, on January 21, 2010, there was a second earthquake in Haiti (the year in general became catastrophic for the state). The city was expected to panic, but the new damage and victims of a tremor of magnitude 6 points did not provoke.

Rescue operation after a second earthquake continued in normal mode.

Why do earthquakes often occur in Haiti? This question was heard from the pages of influential international media that attracted experts to determine where the disaster would happen next time. However, the answer is extremely simple - the island is located at the junction of two lithospheric plates. The state is in an active seismic zone, and earthquakes of a small magnitude occur there permanently.

Return to normal life

The situation with food stabilized a little until January 20. In a few stores began to appear products at inflated prices twice and clean water. Some blockages were not disassembled even two years after the disaster.

In the photo above, for example, the seller of shoes, which stands in the background of the wreckage of the building on January 9, 2012.

The state at the same time tries to continue to live in the usual way. Over time, the work of the president and the central government was restored, and the UN mission in Haiti resumed (representatives of the United Nations were present on the island since the 2004 riots). The ordinary population has returned to more or less acceptable living conditions, but the capital of Haiti will not be the same as it was before the earthquake - too many victims provoked the disaster.

The photo, which is located below, shows posters with faces of those killed in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince.

The photo was taken in 2012.

The final assessment of damage caused by the earthquake

On March 18, 2010 official data were published, according to which, the number of victims of the catastrophe in Haiti was 222,570 people. Injuries of varying severity were received by 311,000 citizens, and 869 people are missing. Material damage was estimated at 5.6 billion euros.

During the disaster, UN representatives were killed, including the head of the organization's mission to Haiti, the famous Brazilian pediatrician, the organizer of charitable programs for children, the archbishop of the capital, the Justice Minister of Haiti and the leader of the opposition.

The situation in Haiti in 2010: an earthquake, a hurricane, riots and an epidemic of cholera

Haiti after the earthquake overtook several more disasters. In October 2010, the cholera epidemic began, which was complicated by a shortage of medicines and not completely eliminated by the consequences of the January 12 disaster. From cholera killed four and a half thousand people, the number of infected is estimated at tens of thousands.

The epidemic was aggravated by hurricane Thomas, who took the lives of 20 citizens and provoked severe floods, riots during presidential elections and the persecution of witches and sorcerers who are guilty of all the calamities in Haiti, according to the public.

The humanitarian situation in many respects has not been stabilized so far.

How is the situation in Haiti now, almost 7 years after the earthquake

Until the full stabilization of the humanitarian situation of Haiti is still very far away. Recently, the state suffered from hurricane Matthew and a number of new epidemics. In addition, political instability, a low standard of living, regular strikes and rallies, riots and clashes with representatives of the UN mission. The situation with Haiti remains deplorable.