Haiti Earthquake Research Paper

Earthquakes are sudden rolling or shaking events caused by movements under the Earth’s surface (Ready.gov, 2003). One of these earthquakes is the earthquake that affected Haiti, which occurred on January 12, 2010. Earthquakes can cause large amounts of damage. They also bring havoc to many cities, states and countries throughout the world. To begin with, there are many causes of earthquakes. An earthquake is a series of vibrations made in the earth’s crust by the abrupt separation and rebound of rocks in which elastic strain has been slowly accumulating (Dictionary.com, 2016). Earthquakes are caused because the earth’s plates are constantly moving. This process that is occurring is called plate-tectonics. The plates underneath the earth push …show more content…
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti. The earthquake occurred at exactly 4:53 pm at local time. At the time Haiti did not have a building code. This then caused the buildings to be destroyed even worse because of the lack of the construction (A & E television networks, 2016). The earthquake had a big influence on schools throughout Haiti. 3, 978 schools were damaged or destroyed by the earthquake. More than 188,383 houses were damaged and 105,000 were destroyed by the earthquake in Haiti. 60% of government and administrative buildings were damaged and ruined. $17.34 billion were spent to aid Haiti after the earthquake. There were 200,000 – 316,000 deaths along with 300,000 people injured (CNN.com, 2015). This also left 895,000 Haitians homeless. The United States took charge and sent troops to Haiti. The troops helped deliver supplies to the people in Haiti. They also helped with search-and-rescue and maintain order. Not only did the troops help, so did the government and individuals. They did this by donating money that would then total to billions of dollars. Even after their one year anniversary people were still left to be homeless. Also, only a small amount of heavy debris was cleared (A & E television networks, 2016). As a result, it still had a big impact on families. One and a half million people were living in camps that had a high risk of flooding. Aids provided the …show more content…
Satellites are being used for global location. They are used to identify electromagnetic radiation before earthquakes. Highly focused cameras are being operated to read changes in fault lines to detect earthquakes. The modified Mercalli Intensity Scale is commonly used to determine the amount of damage created by an earthquake. There is also a device known as a seismograph. A seismograph records the pattern of shock waves caused by an earthquake. A record produced by a seismograph on a display screen or paper printout is called a seismogram (Nsra.org, n.d). Individuals can prepare in advance for this natural disaster. One can go through each room in their home and take notice of unsecured items. Loose objects will fall and break during an earthquake. Persons will be able to secure loose objects with nylon straps and hooks. An individual may also prepare their family to react peacefully during the natural disaster. One may also store critical supplies in case of the natural disaster. For example, keep stock of these supplies just in case like water or medicine. People should also take under consideration to teach their families how to survive on their own if anything would ever happen. Therefore, people should consider the proper precautions to remain safe in the time of an earthquake. Stay where one was. Do not go outside or in a doorway. Drop

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