Haiti Earthquake Essay

Haiti is situated in Hispaniola in the Caribbean. Hispaniola, which consists of two countries Dominican Republic and Haiti itself. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and it is the 145th poorest country the world. 80% of its 9.7 million people live below the poverty line. The Haitian earthquake occurred on the 12th January 2010; it left the country in devastation. The Social impacts of this earthquake left people homeless, the Haitian homes were not earthquake resistant as this was the biggest earthquake that Hispaniola has had so they did not prepare for it , the last earthquake occurred in Dominican Republic. The quake didn’t only leave the country either dead or injured it also brought back cholera a disease that the country hadn’t seen for a century this was because of the wrecked water treatment systems and crowded conditions it had spread quickly. Food shortage was also a side effect to the Haitian earthquake as staple crops like maize, plantains and bananas had been affected by the earthquakes mainly by the dust or being squashed, which means Haiti had to rely even more on increasingly expensive food imports that they couldn’t afford as country. Injuries and deaths was a big impact as the population went down .The death total tolls topped 200,000 a number of bodies were found under buildings and injuries were caused, fire fighters tried to retrieve many of these people, some survived but some sadly lost their lives. Another side effect after the devastation of Haiti was more crime as 3000 prisoners escaped. After the earthquake, orphans were also formed as parents of young children died and children were left homeless, parentless school less as the construction of the school wasn’t earthquake resistant each and every school in Haiti was destroyed. Life expectancy also went lower to 62 years and 7 months only. No residents couldn’t be aided without clean drinking water and dead bodies rotting in the hot sun the risk of life threatening diseases were expected. Economic Impacts was to do with government, the cost to rebuild and how Haiti was 145th poorest country in the world so they had no money to rebuild. Death tolls topped 200,000 and reliable industries and  structures were destroyed, leaving the nation in a tough situation. Haiti had never been known as a wealthy country. The homes of people were destroyed and job places were destroyed, so nobody could work, so no money could be made in the country therefore there was no income for the residents to rely on to rebuild the nation. Haiti had no chance to rebuild the country with their income in 2010. It is been no different three years later in 2014. In 2009 Haiti’s GDP stood at $11.9 billion compared to $11.6 billion in 2008. The population in Haiti increases by 2% of the total population of 10 million every single year. This made the country less rich because they didn’t have enough income for such large number people for the government to rebuild homes, more schools etc. Shops and businesses were destroyed. Looting had to take place. Damage to transport and communication links made trade became very difficult. Environmental impacts were outcomes of the earthquake to the environment. Farmers areas had been destroyed no crops could be grown due the dust and the destruction of the country. Air was also a victim to this disaster as it was polluted by the dust of the buildings and that collapsed and water was affected as chemicals and spillages from collapsed buildings oil had leaked out of damaged storage facilities into water which made it poisoned. The Earthquake reduced Haiti’s forest cover from 60% per cent to less than 2 per cent today. Today the population in Haiti has increased to 10.32million people. To avoid any further destruction to the country in future they should consider making their homes earthquake resistant and the country less populated to avoid a poor country. The number of people living in camps decreased from 1.5 million to 145,403 today, allowing over one million people to return home. More than 11,000 families have now been relocated, allowing the closure of 50 temporary camps. UNDP has been a major help to Haiti to help rebuild their small nation.UNDP is a charity that helps affected countries like Haiti. Key words Definitions. Earthquakes: Sudden release of energy through the earth’s crust in the form of waves. Tension builds up within the crust as convectional forces in the mantle try to move the plates above but are prevented from doing so by friction between plates. When friction is overcome, an earthquake occurs.  Social Impacts: Social impact is the effect of an activity on the social fabric of the community and well-being of individuals and families Convectional: Transfer of heat in a gas or liquid by upward movement of the hotter, less dense portion. Cholera: Cholera is an infection of the intestines. People get it from drinking water or eating food that’s contaminated with a type of bacteria called Vibrio cholera. Food Imports: Food imported from other countries Life expectancy: How long you are expected to live for Economic Impacts: Impacts that have affected the country’s money GDP: Gross Domestic Product. Population: All the inhabitants of a particular place Incomes: Money received. Looting: Stealing from unguarded homes or businesses Environmental Impacts: Impacts to do with Environment affecting the Landscape UNDP: United Nation Development Programme is a charity. Convectional: Final way that heat is transferred from one place to another is convection