Question

conduct research on the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. How did their economic state play a factor? What was the state of their preparedness and mitigation prior to the earthquake? What factors influenced their preparedness and mitigation (or lack-thereof)? Research some winners & losers in this tragedy. How did they win or lose?

Answer 1

Haiti, a small island in the tropics of Hispaniola in the Caribbean had seen a major natural disaster in the form of the earthquake in the year 2010. The intensity of the earthquake was estimated to be a 7.1 magnitude on the rector scale, which had ravening effect on the small island nation. A total of nearly 2.5 million people had to lose their lives and more than 3.2 million people were estimated to be severely hurt by the disaster.

                                   The preparedness of Haiti to meet any natural calamity was the most talked about affair worldwide during and after the disaster. Haiti was totally ill prepared for any natural calamity making it vulnerable to any such situations. The Nation had no fast access points for the evacuation of the people in the hour of need.

                          According to the data on Haiti available before the earthquake, it appears that Haiti was no where near to being prepared for any such scenario. The Island nation severely lacked the presence of any National disaster management, either in its interior or as well in the National scale. This presence of a management to track and act during such a natural calamity acts as the backbone during the operations in such a calamity hit nation. The earthquake had completely shaken maximum parts of the Island Nation destroying majority of the National transport system and the roads and railways were thwarted. However, the Nation also lacked proper roads and railway facilities, where the earthquake affect was minimal in comparison. If Haiti have had better facilities for quick evacuation and access to the foreign countries so that the foreign countries could aid it through air services, the after affect of the natural calamity would have been comparatively much lesser.

The earthquake left a severe scar on the overall economy of Haiti. The economy of Haiti was in anyway not a flourishing one as it was severely mall-nourished, and poverty scattered everywhere. The nation had no economic planning or development goal which could be visible on the face value of the citizens overall economic status. However, the 2010 earthquake increased the level of economic slump for the Island Nation with all the major industries and pubic sector models totally destroyed. The transportation and communication facilities were also totally uprooted. This led to the receipt of foreign aid extremely difficult. The people of the nation were the ultimate losers with no availability of any means of survival for the future. It was foreign aid, on which Haiti was mainly based on for a longer period of time after the natural calamity had hit the Island Nation.