Geosphere Journal Entry

Geosphere Journal Entry

Earthquake Leaves Haiti in Ruins (January 14, 2010)

A catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake left parts of Haiti in ruins, triggering widespread chaos across the poverty-stricken nation. The quake leveled much of the nation's capital Port-au-Prince. It will be many days before all quake victims can be dug from the rubble of collapsed buildings. But disaster officials say the mind-boggling death toll may reach or top 200,000. More than a million people are homeless. It's the worst earthquake to hit the Caribbean nation in over 200 years.

Scenes of unimaginable horror and destruction were everywhere. Clouds of dust choked the skies over Port-au-Prince. The National Palace lay in ruins. A hospital collapsed in a hillside neighborhood. Fires blazed into the night along the city's downtown shoreline, where most buildings are now rubble. Quake survivors gathered in makeshift tent camps scattered throughout the city but food, fresh water, and medical supplies were scarce. Disaster officials say three million people may be in need of emergency aid.

The quake's epicenter was 10 miles (16 kilometers) southwest of Port-au-Prince, according to the United States Geological Survey. It was followed by many strong aftershocks with more expected in the days ahead. The shallow quake hit only 6 miles (10 km) below the surface. The violent ground shaking that resulted registered 9 on the 1 to 10 scale, easily strong enough to bring down Haiti's poorly constructed buildings.

The quake struck along a strike-slip fault, where one side of the fault slips horizontally past the other. Haiti is found in the region where the Caribbean tectonic plate meets the North American plate. Most of the nation lies on the tiny Gonave microplate, a sliver of Earth's crust sandwiched between the Caribbean and North American plates.

Haiti has suffered through more than its share of natural disasters in recent years. In 2008, it was swamped by four hurricanes. The storms brought widespread floods that submerged many towns, destroyed crops, and brought misery to Haitians.