Haiti Earthquake 2010: Facts, Engineering, Images & Maps

The Carribbean island nation of Haiti is well familiar with weather-related disasters. The country had not yet recovered from the havoc wreaked by catastrophic storms in 2008 that left a thousand dead and up to 1 million homeless¹ when a devastating 7M earthquake struck on January 12 at 1653 local time (2153 GMT). The massive tremor's epicenter was approximately 10 miles southwest from the capital, Port-au-Prince, and at a depth of 6.2 miles² and is the most powerful to hit in 200 years.

Chaos and fear on this island nation is tangible. Haiti's President has appealed for international aid after dozens of aftershocks have ensued, stating that: "Parliament has collapsed. The tax office has collapsed. Schools have collapsed. Hospitals have collapsed."³

(5-4-10)

First Earthquake Engineering Education Seminar

(4-8-10) – Princeton University News: Ambassador stresses need to build 'new Haiti'
(4-7-10) – DJC Oregon: Engineers say Haiti damage still widespread
(3-31-10) – Stanford University News: Stanford engineering professor returns from Haiti and Chile resolved to improve earthquake construction education
(3-29-10) – Washington Post: In earthquake, Haiti's concrete buildings proved anything but
(3-25-10) – AOL: Haiti Donors May Tie Aid to Stricter Building Codes
(3-9-10) – UW Daily: Revisiting the ruin
(3-9-10) – LA Times: In Haiti, engineers get crash course on quake damage assessment
(3-4-10) – Wall Street Journal: Buildings wobbled but few fell down
(3-3-10) – CNN: In search of an earthquake-proof building
(3-2-10) – BBC: Why did fewer die in Chile's earthquake than in Haiti's?
(2-24-10) – Cockrell School of Engineering: Cockrell School Engineers at Work in Haiti
(2-18-10) – Nature: Lessons from the Haiti Earthquake
(2-18-10) – Wired: Seismic Study: Earthquake-Proofing Haiti
(2-10-10) – NPR: In Haiti, Many Buildings Left Standing Shouldn't Be
(2-9-10) – Google Maps: Sites Inspected by AIDG/MCEER Team (note that dots are the color of the inspection placard)
(2-9-10) – Science: Rebuilding: From the Bottom Up
(2-1-10) – PEER: Preliminary Reconnaissance Report 12 January 2010 Haiti Earthquake
(1-28-10) – PEER: Preliminary Reconnaissance Presentation about Haiti Earthquake Eduardo Fierro PE, BFP Engineers, Inc.
(1-28-10) – WBFO: UB engineer and his team find some usable buildings in Haiti
(1-28-10) – International Code Council: Haiti FAQ
(1-28-10) – International Code Council: ICC CEO Calls for Using Strong Codes in Haiti Recovery
(1-27-10) – SF Chronicle: Port-au-Prince buildings poorly reinforced
(1-25-10) – Wall Street Journal: Capital Faces Next Question: How to Rebuild
(1-22-10) – VOA: Engineers Assess Damage from Haiti Earthquake
(1-21-10) – MCEER: Haiti Earthquake Relief Mission
(1-21-10) – CNN: A plan to reconstruct my country
(1-21-10) – CNN: 'Perfect storm' of calamity, quake expert says
(1-21-10) – UB News: UB Engineer Leads AIDG-MCEER Mission to Meet "Dire" Need for French-Speaking Engineers in Haiti
(1-21-10) – Wired: Scientists Scramble to Analyze Haiti's Seismic Risk
(1-20-10) – EERI: Structural damage photos
(1-20-10) – Tonawanda News: NYC team part of local earthquake drill heading to Haiti
(1-19-10) – Michigan Tech News: Planning for the Worst: Could Anything Have Helped in Haiti?
(1-19-10) – Architecture for Humanity: Haiti Quake: A Plan for Reconstruction
(1-19-10) – Slate: Haiti Earthquake FAQ
(1-19-10) – CNN: It could take 10 years to rebuild Haiti
(1-19-10) – Guardian: Engineers work out how to rebuild capital to withstand future shocks
(1-19-10) – AFPS: Seismicity in Haiti
(1-19-10) – AFPS: Informations préliminaires sur le séisme de Haïti
(1-15-10) – BBC: Haiti devastation exposes shoddy construction
(1-14-10) – LA Times: Tectonics and poor construction conspired to create devastation in Haiti
(1-14-10) – NPR: Haiti's Buildings Weren't Fit To Withstand Quakes
(1-14-10) – NY Times: Flawed Building Likely a Big Element
(1-14-10) – EWBUS: Engineers Without Borders

Earthquake Facts

6 months later, less than 5% of the 20-25 million cubic yards of debris has been removed NY Times
Toll of the Haiti quake is more than twice that of any previous magnitude-7.0 event, and the fourth worst since 1900 Nature
Death toll revised to 316,000 CBC News
$9.9B pledged by international community BBC
Action Plan for National Recovery and Development Government of the Republic of Haiti
$11.5 Billion at least for reconstruction BBC
roughly 7% (84,000) of the 1.2 million Haitians displaced are elderly NY Times
245,000 ruined or hopelessly damaged structures to produce 30-78 million cubic yards of rubble, per UN rapid assessment teams Washington Post
Tsunami triggered by January quake BBC
Threat of additional damaging earthquakes in Haiti will remain for the next year USGS report
25% of Haiti's electric customers have service restored one month after CNN
Estimating the Direct Economic Damage of the Earthquake in Haiti Inter-American Development Bank report
270m euros pledged by France in reconstruction aid BBC
$12m Canadian for new government headquarters BBC
G7 pledges debt relief for Haiti BBC
Emergency aid appeal hits 95% of $577m target BBC
$8-$14 billion reconstruction costs, per Inter-American Development Bank Reuters
Comparisons between recent devastating earthquakes – Sichuan, China 2008, l'Aquila, Italy 2009 and Port-au-Prince, Haiti 2010 BBC
About 20% of the city's structures collapsed and perhaps 80% of those still standing suffered serious damage, according to UN officials NPR
Up to 97% of the city's schools destoyed NY Times
80% of major destruction in Port-au-Prince; 180 government buildings destroyed; 200 million cubic yards of debris needing to be removed Washington Post
Aftershock sequence of the 7.0M earthquake that struck January 12, will continue for months, if not years USGS
Map of earthquake and aftershocks USGS
400,000 to be resettled outside Port-au-Prince Telegraph
1.5 million homeless BBC
6.1M earthquake hits January 20, 35 miles WSW of Port-au-Prince USGS report
1 in 10 homes in Port-au-Prince destroyed BBC
26 search and rescue teams hunting for survivors BBC
IRIS Recent Earthquakes – Haiti
Strike-slip fault caused the earthquake
Four dozen aftershocks USGS list
7.0M earthquake hits Haiti January 12, 2010 USGS Report