#007 - Haiti Earthquake

The 2010 Haitian earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake in Haiti.

The earthquake occurred on Tuesday, 12 January 2010, at a depth of 13 km.

The 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck at 6.03am ( 1103 GMT) on Wednesday, eight days after the Haitian Capital was levelled by a massive temblor(earthquake) in which at least 75,000 people were killed, and a million left homeless.

The International Red Cross estimated that about three million people were affected by the quake.

As many as 200,000 people died in the earthquake.

Rescuers have kept their grim search through the rubble, elated by the successes in finding

survivors who have defied the odds.

Interior Minister Paul Antoine Bien-Aime said ‘We have already collected around 50,000 dead bodies. We anticipate there will be between 100,000 and 200,000 dead in total, although we will never know the exact number.’

Some 40,000 bodies had been buried in mass graves, and if the figures turn out to be accurate, the earthquake that Haiti on Tuesday would be one of the 10 deadliest earthquakes ever recorded.

More than 50,000 people were killed and 250,000 injured by the earthquake in Haiti, and left nearly 1.5 million homeless.

The earthquake caused major damage to Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and other settlements in the region.

Three-quarters of the capital, Port-au-Prince, will need to be rebuilt.

Many landmark buildings were damaged or destroyed, including the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly building, the Port-au-Prince Cathedral, and the main jail.

Amongst the killed were the Archbishop of Port-au-Prince Monsignor Joseph Serge Miot, Justice Minister Paul Denis and opposition leader Michel Gaillard.

President René Préval, who was in Presidential Palace at the time, had escaped injury.

The headquarters of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), located in the capital, collapsed, killing many people, including the Mission's Chief, Hédi Annabi.

Many countries helped for humanitarian aid, pledging funds, rescues, medical teams, engineers and support personnel.

Communication systems, air, land, and sea transport facilities, hospitals, and electrical networks had been damaged by the earthquake made the helpers confused over who was in charge, air traffic congestion, and problems with prioritisation of flights.

Port-au-Prince's morgues were quickly overwhelmed.

The Haitian government announced on 21 January that over 80,000 bodies had been buried in mass graves.

Amid a massive aid operation to help hundreds of thousands left destitute, the United States said it was pouring 4,000 more troops, who had been due to deploy to the Middle East and Europe, into the country.