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Haiti 2010 - Anatomy of a Disaster

Read all the following articles and web sites, and make notes on each of them:

• Haiti: country profile
• Haiti: a long descent to hell. "Haiti, born of slavery and revolution, has struggled with centuries of crippling debt, exploitation, corruption and violence" The Guardian.
• A divided island: the forces working against Haiti. "Why does Haiti have it so tough compared with its neighbour, the Dominican Republic?" Jared Diamond explains. The Guardian.
• "It became increasingly, brutally clear: Port-au-Prince is a tomb". An early report from the Guardian on 15 January
• "Haiti: Learning from past mistakes is the first priority". In the past 10 years more than $4bn has gone to rebuild communities in Haiti - and more is needed. The Guardian
• Day et al. (2008). Tectonic Threats in the Caribbean (technical report - pdf file)
  

Use news websites, such as:

• BBC News
• New Scientist (follow links within the articles)
• The Guardian
• The Washington Post
• The Miami Herald

  Video footage

• Amateur footage shows moment quake struck Haiti
• Videos from the Washington Post

Think about the points and questions below, and formulate answers to them which you can present in class. Find appropriate diagrams, maps and photographs, and bring them along in paper or electronic form. Even better, post links to them on the Hazards Blog in Blackboard, so that we can quickly access them during class.

Physical factors

• The topography
• The climate
• The vegetation
• The bedrock geology
• The plate tectonic setting
• Local tectonics
• The superficial geology
• Pattern of previous seismicity
• Pattern of current seismicity
• Other natural hazards which affect Haiti

Human factors

• The human toll - deaths, injuries, homelessness...
• What is likely to happen next, in terms of the human toll?
• The infrastructure - before the 'quake
• The infrastructure - after the 'quake
• History
• The role of geologists
• The role of the military
• The role of NGOs
• The role of the media

Compare the above factors with neighbouring countries: Dominican Republic, Cuba, Jamaica...

Last updated 22 January, 2009 at 22:17