Summary
Highlights
Secondary impacts included over 2 million people left homeless and without food or water, leading to an increase in crime and looting. Immediate responses involved 2.6 million bottles of water donated by the US, temporary hospitals set up by the Red Cross, and 500 UN troops and police deployed to distribute aid and maintain order.
Long-term responses included the International Monetary Fund approving $102 million for rebuilding. However, after six months, 98% of the rubble remained uncleared, and a year later, 1.6 million people were still living in 1,300 camps. The devastation was exacerbated by Haiti's status as a low-income country, lacking earthquake-resistant buildings, having poorly built structures, and possessing few resources for rescue and aid, heavily relying on foreign assistance.
On January 12, 2010, Haiti experienced a devastating magnitude 7 earthquake. The earthquake occurred on the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault, a conservative plate margin where the Caribbean and North American plates move alongside each other. The fault had been locked for 250 years, releasing a massive amount of accumulated energy. The epicenter was 25 kilometers west of Port-au-Prince, with a shallow focus of 13 kilometers below the surface.
The primary impacts were catastrophic: 30,000 commercial buildings collapsed, over 230,000 people died, and 300,000 were injured. More than 100,000 houses were destroyed, along with numerous hospitals, the Presidential Palace, and the main port.