Earthquakes can occur all over the world, especially in or near zones that are located near tectonic plates.
Haiti is a country that sits close to the intersection of two tectonic plates, which when they meet cause an earthquake. With Haiti being such an earthquake-prone country ever since the 18th Century, maybe even earlier, this article will discuss recent earthquakes in Haiti and how it affects its population.
The Most Recent Earthquake
The most recent earthquake in Haiti occurred on August 14th, 2021. It was the most devastating earthquake in Haiti’s history. The strongest earthquake before this event was in 2010, which had a magnitude of 7.
The August 2021 Haiti earthquake was a devastating occurrence that killed more than 1,200 people. Before and after the biggest shock, there were several aftershocks of 5 on the Richter scale, which could be felt across the southern peninsula of Haiti.
This earthquake alone had such a wide aftershock radius that it could be felt by over 1 million people in surrounding countries such as Jamaica, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. Yet, it is the residents in Haiti that suffer the awful consequences.
Haiti’s Earthquake History
The previous earthquake occurred in 2010, which affected over 3 million people in Haiti. It is not only buildings and homes that suffer, it is families too. Due to this, Haiti Children’s Project was founded in order to help the children of Haiti attain safer conditions and a better quality of living so that they don’t need to be affected by earthquakes their whole life.
Why They Could Be A Regular Occurence
After the 2010 earthquake, researchers wrote that they believe it was the beginning of large and frequent earthquakes. They believe this is the Enriqiullo fault system has seen its first activity in over 240 years, which is a fault system that had previously caused regular earthquakes.
The 2010 earthquake was the last catastrophic earthquake to hit Haiti before 2021. Yet, the country is still trying to recover 11 years later.
Haiti’s 2010 earthquake was estimated to have killed over 220,000 people and injured another 300,000. Thus, the after-effects of the 2021 earthquake aren’t so extreme. However, that could change as people are still being found among the rubble.
The 2010 earthquake is still affecting the population and their recovery rate immensely, let alone being hit by another earthquake. It puts heavy pressure on the country and their economy after buildings and homes crumble.
Haiti is a country that seems to be forever tackling and trying to overcome the devastation that earthquakes cause. Even after the 2010 earthquake, they were hit by Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Just five years later, the biggest recorded earthquake has happened in 2021. Thus, it seems that earthquakes in Haiti will be a regular occurrence.
The population of Haiti is still in recovery mode and looks to be working its way back towards some kind of normality, or as close as it ever can be. With the help of charities and organizations that help orphans and families, they can get back on track quicker and recover from such devastating catastrophes.