Notes on Haiti Earthquake
Haiti Earthquake Notes
Geography A2 Waller Hazards 2012-2013 GRW Tiarè Cole
Where was it? * Port-au-Prince has a population of around 2million people Western Haiti, Caribbean Sea * The epicentre occurred around Port-au-Prince and as a result the majority of damage:
Why did it happen? * Haiti has two fault lines running through it:
* Professor Paul Mann was one of the first people to write about and predict the Earthquake * Much of the improper buildings in Haiti were as a result of rapid growth. This was too rapid and as a result building codes were not enforced, resulting in poor construction using bad material * There were very little steel reinforcement present and nothing robust to support the majority concrete buildings. New techniques are being developed to make buildings “life-safe” e.g. floating foundations and extra reinforcement. Often too expensive for LEDCs who cannot afford it * Much of the city of Port-au-Prince is built on unstable sediment…this amplified the effect as the seismic waves passed quicker using less energy through the sediment (as compared to hard rock) * The plates move approximately 7mm a year along the fault * According to some this disaster was not a big surprise and Haiti was due a large earthquake, however there were seldom any indicators to properly predict it’s occurrence and as a result although there was warning some say not enough. * Haiti was formed by the collision of the North American (NA) plate and the Caribbean plate which lead to the creation of a “strike-slip” fault:
* On the North East coast the NA plate and the Caribbean plate are subducting, this causes the Caribbean plate to bend, succumbing to pressure the Caribbean plate will rebound and it is predicted that this rebound will produce a magnitude 9 earthquake
Rebounds as a result or pressure that caused it to bend
Rebounds as a result or pressure that caused it to bend
When was it?
It occurred on the
Geography A2 Waller Hazards 2012-2013 GRW Tiarè Cole
Where was it? * Port-au-Prince has a population of around 2million people Western Haiti, Caribbean Sea * The epicentre occurred around Port-au-Prince and as a result the majority of damage:
Why did it happen? * Haiti has two fault lines running through it:
* Professor Paul Mann was one of the first people to write about and predict the Earthquake * Much of the improper buildings in Haiti were as a result of rapid growth. This was too rapid and as a result building codes were not enforced, resulting in poor construction using bad material * There were very little steel reinforcement present and nothing robust to support the majority concrete buildings. New techniques are being developed to make buildings “life-safe” e.g. floating foundations and extra reinforcement. Often too expensive for LEDCs who cannot afford it * Much of the city of Port-au-Prince is built on unstable sediment…this amplified the effect as the seismic waves passed quicker using less energy through the sediment (as compared to hard rock) * The plates move approximately 7mm a year along the fault * According to some this disaster was not a big surprise and Haiti was due a large earthquake, however there were seldom any indicators to properly predict it’s occurrence and as a result although there was warning some say not enough. * Haiti was formed by the collision of the North American (NA) plate and the Caribbean plate which lead to the creation of a “strike-slip” fault:
* On the North East coast the NA plate and the Caribbean plate are subducting, this causes the Caribbean plate to bend, succumbing to pressure the Caribbean plate will rebound and it is predicted that this rebound will produce a magnitude 9 earthquake
Rebounds as a result or pressure that caused it to bend
Rebounds as a result or pressure that caused it to bend
When was it?
It occurred on the