Haiti Earthquake Research Paper

Human Health Impacts in Haiti Before and After the 2010 Earthquake

Introduction The 2010 earthquake that took place is Haiti can be considered one of the worst natural disasters in modern history. Hundreds of thousands were either killed, wounded, or left displaced (Lichtenberger et al./2010). The earthquake had huge impacts on the health and well-being of Haitians, especially among women and children (Schuller, 2011). Unfortunately, Haitians were not strangers to health issues before the 2010 earthquake. Being the poorest country in the western hemisphere made dealing with the after effects of an earthquake worse than they had to be (DesRoches et al./2011). Before looking at the suffering caused by the earthquake, it is important

The 2010 earthquake was caused by a transform boundary fault known as the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault (Bruno, N.d.). The epicenter of the earthquake was SW of Port of Prince and estimated at a depth of 13 KM (DesRoches et al./2011). The earthquake was measured at a magnitude 7 on the Richter scale (Bruno, N.d.) and the country experienced two more devastating aftershocks about twenty minutes later measured at a 6 and 5.7 (DesRoches et al./2011). Large earthquakes, such as the one that hit Haiti, tend to be violent and can shake the ground for a long time (Smith, Petley/2009).

A Setup for Failure Before the earthquake, Haiti was already experiencing extreme poverty and lack of leadership (Bruno, N.d.). Less than half of the countries population had access to clean water and even more didn’t have access to properly sanitized amenities (Lichtenberger et al./2010). Only half of the country had been immunized against diseases such as tetanus and diphtheria (Lichtenberger et al./2011). Haiti also had the highest rates of mortality for children under the age of five (DesRoches et al./2011). The unstable government and lack of preparation for such an event led to Haitians facing even worst crisis’s later.

Destruction and