Mass Hysteria After an Earthquake
Devina Gallegos
SECTA
Mass Hysteria After an Earthquake In 2010 a major earthquake of a high magnitude hit the country of Haiti. The earthquake hit near the town of Leogane not too far from Haiti’s capital. The earthquake was one of the highest ever recorded. It was catastrophic and put the country in ruins by destroying millions of homes, buildings, and roads. After the quake the country was going through a case of mass hysteria. The quake in Haiti had a high magnitude of 7.0 one of the highest ever recorded. The earthquake hit near the town of Leogane about 16 miles southwest from Haiti’s capital Port-au-
Prince. The quake hit at 4:53 PM, with aftershocks that came soon after. Then there
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People began to behave in intense and abnormal ways due their stress and fear. Many of the behaviors seen included, looting, screaming, crowding, and crying. Looting became an aggressive act as people began to rob each others food, water, and medical supplies, which were limited during that time. The acts of screaming and crying were mainly shown after people saw friends and family succumb to their injuries or as structures continued to fall apart even after the shaking. Crowding also became an intense behavior as people rushed to vehicles and relief organizations who were bringing in more food, medical supplies, and water. People were running and yelling as they became desperate help. According to a BBC article, Rachmani Domersant an operations manager of the Food for the Poor charity said, “You have thousands of people sitting in the streets with nowhere to go. There are people running, crying, screaming” (2010). Mass hysteria created the intense acts and behaviors seen by people after the earthquake. There are many short term effects that occur after an earthquake. Short term effects may be difficult to overcome, but only last for awhile. After an earthquake there is violent damage to buildings, homes, and roads. The destroyed structures will have to be reconstructed in order to rebuild the town. Another short term effect would be the lack of supplies, food, and water. As time passes more food, water, and medical supplies will be provided since organizations are given time to regroup and create plans. These effects are considered short term because they will only last a short period of