One week ago today, on January 12, 2010, a 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti.  We’ve seen the news reports and heard about the devastation and aid headed to those in need.

So here we are, wondering what we can do and how this happened.

What Can We Do?  I’ve seen a lot of caring people lately.  HOK showed that we care by making a donation to the American Red Cross, friends I know have donated money to an array of organizations, and I have even made a small personal donation to Direct Relief International.  Here’s where you can go to donate: popular donation sites.  How about donating services or goods?  Perhaps you don’t need to rush to Haiti this exact moment, but in the future, maybe you can help by offering educational, architectural or engineering services?  Don’t wait to be guilted into doing something. If you feel compelled and see a way to help, get it started!  As it goes with every disaster, thousands of people rely on the kindness of strangers for help, and this is certainly one very tragic disaster with no warning.  Everything from blankets to medicine to food and money is needed.  Another thought is that while those always-do-gooders are off battling the wards of nature in Haiti, perhaps you could fill in for them in your own neighborhood.  Can you think of ways to help?  Do you know of any aid efforts to participate in?

How Did This Happen?  I won’t go into details of how an earthquake happens, but I’ll try to explain a little about buildings and earthquakes.  If one were to ask me if the Haiti disaster could have been prevented, I would have to admit that I have mixed feelings.  Of course it’s not possible to prevent an earthquake; but what about the essential ‘thing’ that caused the causalities, the buildings?  To that I say, of course, given the right circumstances.  Arguably, with the right building codes (a whole argument within itself), the right materials, and the right construction crew/tools, some very impressive things can happen.  Those however require money, something Haiti had little of to handle this whole building debacle.  Many of the Haitian buildings were made of concrete or concrete blocks that require steel reinforcing (a.k.a. rebar) to perform well in an earthquake, which they did not have.  Additionally, further research¹ shows that the concrete had a lack of adequate cement that is used for strength of concrete.   Other things like poor foundations, poorly educated crews, and inadequate supplies combined to a lot of non-engineered and poorly built structures.  Sadly for most Haitians, these poor structures were the only places to go as it is estimated that over half of the population lives on less than $1.00 a day².

What about the Dominican Republic? It is good of you to ask, the Dominican Republic shares an island in the Caribbean with Haiti.  The epicenter of the quake was located on the west coast of the island (i.e. Haiti).  It’s likely that there are areas that also have damage, but overall, most of the damage was located in a central area in and around Port-au-Prince.  [Click 3].  To explain this I will simplify by saying that there are locations of earth that you can think of as “loose” or “packed”.  If there is an earthquake in a loose area, the energy from the earthquake is dissipated quickly (like packing peanuts acting as a cushion around a package).  If there is an earthquake in a packed area, the energy from an earthquake transfers from one spot to another easily (like an un-cushioned package thus breaking the valuables inside).  [For comparison, I like to explain to people in the US by comparing St. Louis and most of California.  Way back in 1811, there was an earthquake on the New Madrid fault (near St. Louis) that was said to have rung bells in Boston, Massachusetts (1200 miles away)!  In California, where earthquakes are more common, the earth is more “broken apart”, if there is a quake in San Francisco; it would likely not be felt in Los Angeles, only 300 miles away in the same state].  It could be possible that the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault is simply not as easy to transmit the force of the earthquake to other locations, which could have been what “protected” much of the remainder of the island.

So, here’s to thanking those that have helped in any way they could, and here’s to hoping we learn much from this tragic experience!

References:

1. Watkins, Tom. “Problems with Haiti Building Standards Outlined.” CNN. 2010. [http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/13/haiti.construction/index.html?section=cnn_latest]
2. Sletten, Pål and Egset, Willy. “Poverty in Haiti.” Fafo. 2004. [http://www.mpce.gouv.ht/povertyinhaiti.pdf/]
3. “Shake Map.” USGS. 2010. [http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/shakemap/global/shake/2010rja6/]
4. Image [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/13/haiti-earthquake-photos-video_n_421155.html]