1. seed
  2. Disaster in Haiti

Disaster in Haiti

By milhayser on January 14, 2010.
i-d3117d58103843f9a9903e10af3e49f5-haitibuzz.jpg

A 7.0 magnitude earthquake rocked Haiti yesterday, and while the devastation is readily apparent, the human toll is not yet known. Chris Rowan details the tectonics on the event on Highly Allochtonous, explaining that the epicenter's proximity to Port-au-Prince means the capital "endured the maximum possible shaking intensity from an earthquake of this size." Rowan goes on to conclude the diminutive Caribbean plate experienced a strike-slip fault along its northern edge with the much larger North American plate, a rupture which was not "particularly unusual" in the "tectonic context," but which in the economic context of the western hemisphere's poorest nation makes for nothing short of a catastrophe. Jonah Lehrer on The Frontal Cortex fears the impending casualty count, writing that when humans are faced with such large numbers, "the emotional event becomes an abstraction, which fails to trigger the proper moral reaction." Eric Klemetti on Eruptions reports that the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a local Tsunami Watch last night, and PZ Myers and Greg Laden offer links for us to stay on top of the story and make donations to aid agencies providing help in the wake of this disaster.

Links below the fold.

Tags
Geology

More like this

Skeptics and Humanist Aid Relief Effort
The Center for Inquiry is accepting disaster-relief donations through its S.H.A.R.E. program to support those providing care to the survivors of the 7.0 earthquake that struck Jan. 12 near the capital city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. All donations--100 percent with no operating costs retained--will…
Haiti One Year Later: Homelessness, Rubble, and Questions about NGOs
One year after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake killed more than 200,000 Haitians and left 1.5 million homeless, conditions in the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation are still grim. Cholera has killed 3,600 people and weakened many more; the UN warns that 650,000 may be affected over the next several…
Six Months Post-quake in Haiti
For the first few weeks after a 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti on January 12th, Haiti seemed to be on everyone's mind. Six months later, many of us think little about the quake survivors who are still struggling. In an op-ed in today's New York Times, Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive of Haiti and…
More tectonics of the Italian earthquake
The estimated death toll from last night's M 6.3 earthquake in Italy is currently 150, with 10's of thousands of people left homeless. My thoughts are with the people there, especially those still searching for their loved ones. As you can see from the USGS map and moment tensor (and from Highly…