- 316,000 people were killed, and 1 million people were made homeless.
- 300,000 people injured.
- 3 million people were affected by the earthquake.
- 250,000 homes and 30,000 other buildings, including the president’s palace and 60% of government buildings were either destroyed or badly damaged.
- Communication went down including land lines, mobile phones and the internet. This made is very difficult to contact people in Haiti and to organise a response.
- Fifty hospitals and 1300 schools were damaged. Port-au-Prince had only eight functioning hospitals before the earthquake and all of these have been destroyed or seriously damaged.
- The main prison was destroyed and over 4000 inmates escaped.
- The airport control tower, port and many roads were destroyed.
- Collapsed buildings and shattered infrastructure made the emergency operation very difficult.
- The clothing industry had facilities damaged, damaging the economy as 66 per cent of Haiti’s exports are clothes.
- Morgue facilities were overwhelmed, so bodies were piled in the streets, spreading disease.
- Due to the slow distribution of resources throughout Haiti, looting began to take place.
- Local food prices increased.
- Cholera breakout.
- Haiti government crippled – now one of the most corrupt in the world.
- 1 in 5 people lost their jobs because so many buildings were destroyed.
- It was very difficult getting aid into the area because of issues at the airport a generally poor management of the situation.
- People were squashed into shanty towns or onto the streets because their homes had been destroyed leading to poor sanitation and health.
Government Short Term Response
- Initial confusion over who was in charge, the government or the UN left no single group organising relief efforts until the 16th
- Government handed over control of the airport to the USA to improve flight efficiency for aid reaching the country.
- Set up 14 camps around the capital to give people somewhere to sleep.
International Short-Term Response
- Dominican Republic was first to provide aid with water, food and machinery.
- UN worked with DR to use its airports for aid flights.
- DR sent doctors and surgeons with mobile medical units to deal with the injured.
- DR sent food trucks which provided 100,000 meals a day.
- Iceland, China, Qatar and Israel all sent relief supplies and personnel within days of the earthquake.
- Many other relief organisations such as UNICEF and the British Red Cross provided aid.
- US air traffic controllers diverted many foreign aid flights, being accused of bias.
- US and Canadian military ships and helicopters helped distribute aid.
- US $100million donated by US and £20million by UK.
- Iceland’s search and rescue team were the first to reach Haiti within 24 hours of the Earthquake.
- The USA and Canada allowed the temporary relocation of Haitians to their respected countries whilst relief efforts were underway.
- Mass graves have been dug on the outskirts to bury high number of dead bodies
- Immediate priority was to provide safe drinking water and shelter material for people who had lost their homes. Water and sanitation were eventually supplied for 1.7 million people
- 810,000 people placed in aid camps. 115,000 tents and 1,000,000 tarpaulin shelters provided.
Long Term Response
- Support was provided for people without jobs, which equates to nearly 70 per cent of the population, through cash/food-for-work projects.
- One million people still without houses after one year.
- Six months later 98% of the rubble un-cleared, with thousands of bodies remaining beneath the rubble.