Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the 

natural world, physical world,

or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also

to life in general. It ranges in scale from the subatomic to the cosmic.

The word nature is derived from the Latin word natura, or "essential qualities, innate

disposition", and in ancient times, literally meant "birth". [1]Natura was a Latin

translation of the Greek word physis (φύσις), which originally related to the intrinsic

characteristics that plants, animals, and other features of the world develop of their

own accord.[2][3] The concept of nature as a whole, the physical universe, is one of

several expansions of the original notion; it began with certain core applications of

the word φύσις by pre-Socratic philosophers, and has steadily gained currency ever

since. This usage was confirmed during the advent of modern scientific method in

the last several centuries.[4][5]

Within the various uses of the word today, "nature" may refer to the general realm of

various types of living plants and animals, and in some cases to the processes

associated with inanimate objects–the way that particular types of things exist and

change of their own accord, such as the weather and geology of the Earth, and

the matter and energy of which all these things are composed. It is often taken to

mean the "natural environment" or wilderness–wild animals, rocks, forest, beaches,

and in general those things that have not been substantially altered by human

intervention, or which persist despite human intervention. For, example,

manufactured objects and human interaction generally are not considered part of

nature, unless qualified as, for example, "human nature" or "the whole of nature".

This more traditional concept of natural things which can still be found today implies

a distinction between the natural and the artificial, with the artificial being understood

as that which has been brought into being by a human consciousness or a

human mind. Depending on the particular context, the term "natural" might also be

distinguished from the unnatural, the supernatural, and the artifactual.

A disaster is a perceived tragedy, being either a natural calamity or man-made

catastrophe. It is a hazard which has come to fruition. A hazard, in turn, is a situation

which poses a level of threat to life, health, property, or that may deleteriously affect

society or an environment.

In contemporary academia, disasters are seen as the consequence of

inappropriately managed risk. These risks are the product of hazards and

vulnerability. Hazards that strike in areas with low vulnerability are not considered a

disaster, as is the case in uninhabited regions.[1]

Developing countries suffer the greatest costs when a disaster hits – more than 95

percent of all deaths caused by disasters occur in developing countries, and losses

due to natural disasters are 20 times greater (as a percentage of GDP) in developing

countries than in industrialized countries.[2]

A disaster can be defined as any tragic event with great loss stemming from events

such as earthquakes, floods, catastrophic accidents, fires, or explosions.

A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard

(e.g., flood, tornado, hurricane, volcanic eruption, earthquake, or landslide) that

affects the environment, and leads to financial, environmental and/or human losses.

The resulting loss depends on the capacity of the population to support or resist the

disaster, and their resilience. This understanding is concentrated in the formulation:

"disasters occur when hazards meet vulnerability." A natural hazard will hence never

result in a natural disaster in areas without vulnerability, e.g. strong earthquakes in

uninhabited areas. The term natural has consequently been disputed because the

events simply are not hazards or disasters without human involvement.

An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the result of a

sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that createsseismic waves.

The seismicity or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size

of earthquakes experienced over a period of time. Earthquakes are measured with

a seismometer; a device which also records is known as

a seismograph. The moment magnitude (or the related and mostly

obsolete Richter magnitude) of an earthquake is conventionally reported, with

magnitude 3 or lower earthquakes being mostly imperceptible and magnitude 7

causing serious damage over large areas. Intensity of shaking is measured on the

modified Mercalli scale.

At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and sometimes

displacing the ground. When a large earthquake epicenteris located offshore, the

seabed sometimes suffers sufficient displacement to cause a tsunami. The shaking

in earthquakes can also trigger landslides and occasionally volcanic activity.

In its most generic sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic event

—whether a natural phenomenon or an event caused by humans—that generates

seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of geological faults, but

also by volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear experiments. An

earthquake's point of initial rupture is called its focus or hypocenter. The

term epicenterrefers to the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter.

Naturally occurring earthquakes

Fault types

Tectonic earthquakes will occur anywhere within the earth where there is sufficient

stored elastic strain energy to drive fracture propagation along a fault plane. In the

case of transform or convergent type plate boundaries, which form the largest fault

surfaces on earth, they will move past each other smoothly and aseismically only if

there are no irregularities or asperities along the boundary that increase the frictional

resistance. Most boundaries do have such asperities and this leads to a form

of stick-slip behaviour. Once the boundary has locked, continued relative motion

between the plates leads to increasing stress and therefore, stored strain energy in

the volume around the fault surface. This continues until the stress has risen

sufficiently to break through the asperity, suddenly allowing sliding over the locked

portion of the fault, releasing the stored energy. This energy is released as a

combination of radiated elastic strain seismic waves, frictional heating of the fault

surface, and cracking of the rock, thus causing an earthquake. This process of
gradual build-up of strain and stress punctuated by occasional sudden earthquake

failure is referred to as the Elastic-rebound theory. It is estimated that only 10

percent or less of an earthquake's total energy is radiated as seismic energy. Most of

the earthquake's energy is used to power the earthquake fracture growth or is

converted into heat generated by friction. Therefore, earthquakes lower the Earth's

available elastic potential energy and raise its temperature, though these changes

are negligible compared to the conductive and convective flow of heat out from the

Earth's deep interior.[1]

Earthquake fault types

Main article: Fault (geology)

There are three main types of fault that may cause an earthquake: normal, reverse

(thrust) and strike-slip. Normal and reverse faulting are examples of dip-slip, where

the displacement along the fault is in the direction of dip and movement on them

involves a vertical component. Normal faults occur mainly in areas where the crust is

beingextended such as a divergent boundary. Reverse faults occur in areas where

the crust is being shortened such as at a convergent boundary. Strike-slip faults are

steep structures where the two sides of the fault slip horizontally past each other ;

transform boundaries are a particular type of strike-slip fault. Many earthquakes are

caused by movement on faults that have components of both dip-slip and strike-slip;

this is known as oblique slip.

Earthquakes away from plate boundaries

Where plate boundaries occur within continental lithosphere, deformation is spread

out over a much larger area than the plate boundary itself. In the case of the San

Andreas fault continental transform, many earthquakes occur away from the plate
boundary and are related to strains developed within the broader zone of

deformation caused by major irregularities in the fault trace (e.g. the “Big bend”

region). The Northridge earthquake was associated with movement on a blind thrust

within such a zone. Another example is the strongly oblique convergent plate

boundary between the Arabian and Eurasian plates where it runs through the

northwestern part of the Zagros mountains. The deformation associated with this

plate boundary is partitioned into nearly pure thrust sense movements perpendicular

to the boundary over a wide zone to the southwest and nearly pure strike-slip motion

along the Main Recent Fault close to the actual plate boundary itself. This is

demonstrated by earthquake focal mechanisms.[2]

All tectonic plates have internal stress fields caused by their interactions with

neighbouring plates and sedimentary loading or unloading (e.g. deglaciation). These

stresses may be sufficient to cause failure along existing fault planes, giving rise

to intraplate earthquakes.[3]

Shallow-focus and deep-focus earthquakes

The majority of tectonic earthquakes originate at the ring of fire in depths not

exceeding tens of kilometers. Earthquakes occurring at a depth of less than 70 km

are classified as 'shallow-focus' earthquakes, while those with a focal-depth between

70 and 300 km are commonly termed 'mid-focus' or 'intermediate-depth'

earthquakes. In subduction zones, where older and colder oceanic crustdescends

beneath another tectonic plate, deep-focus earthquakes may occur at much greater

depths (ranging from 300 up to 700 kilometers).[4] These seismically active areas of

subduction are known as Wadati-Benioff zones. Deep-focus earthquakes occur at a

depth at which the subducted lithosphere should no longer be brittle, due to the high

temperature and pressure. A possible mechanism for the generation of deep-focus

earthquakes is faulting caused by olivine undergoing a phase transition into

a spinel structure.[5]

Earthquakes and volcanic activity

Earthquakes often occur in volcanic regions and are caused there, both

by tectonic faults and the movement of magma in volcanoes. Such earthquakes can

serve as an early warning of volcanic eruptions, as during the Mount St.

Helens eruption of 1980.[6] Earthquake swarms can serve as markers for the location

of the flowing magma throughout the volcanoes. These swarms can be recorded by

seismometers and tiltmeters (a device which measures the ground slope) and used

as sensors to predict imminent or upcoming eruptions. [7]

Rupture dynamics

A tectonic earthquake begins by an initial rupture at a point on the fault surface, a

process known as nucleation. The scale of the nucleation zone is uncertain, with

some evidence, such as the rupture dimensions of the smallest earthquakes,

suggesting that it is smaller than 100 m while other evidence, such as a slow

component revealed by low-frequency spectra of some earthquakes, suggest that it

is larger. The possibility that the nucleation involves some sort of preparation

process is supported by the observation that about 40% of earthquakes are

preceded by foreshocks. Once the rupture has initiated it begins to propagate along

the fault surface. The mechanics of this process are poorly understood, partly

because it is difficult to recreate the high sliding velocities in a laboratory. Also the

effects of strong ground motion make it very difficult to record information close to a

nucleation zone.[8]
Rupture propagation is generally modelled using a fracture mechanics approach,

likening the rupture to a propagating mixed mode shear crack. The rupture velocity is

a function of the fracture energy in the volume around the crack tip, increasing with

decreasing fracture energy. The velocity of rupture propagation is orders of

magnitude faster than the displacement velocity across the fault. Earthquake

ruptures typically propagate at velocities that are in the range 70–90 % of the S-

wave velocity and this is independent of earthquake size. A small subset of

earthquake ruptures appear to have propagated at speeds greater than the S-wave

velocity. These supershear earthquakes have all been observed during large strike-

slip events. The unusually wide zone of coseismic damage caused by the 2001

Kunlun earthquake has been attributed to the effects of the sonic boom developed in

such earthquakes. Some earthquake ruptures travel at unusually low velocities and

are referred to as slow earthquakes. A particularly dangerous form of slow

earthquake is the tsunami earthquake, observed where the relatively low felt

intensities, caused by the slow propagation speed of some great earthquakes, fail to

alert the population of the neighbouring coast, as in the 1896 Meiji-Sanriku

earthquake.[8]

Earthquake clusters

Most earthquakes form part of a sequence, related to each other in terms of location

and time.[9] Most earthquake clusters consist of small tremors which cause little to no

damage, but there is a theory that earthquakes can recur in a regular pattern. [10]

Aftershocks

Main article: Aftershock
An aftershock is an earthquake that occurs after a previous earthquake, the

mainshock. An aftershock is in the same region of the main shock but always of a

smaller magnitude. If an aftershock is larger than the main shock, the aftershock is

redesignated as the main shock and the original main shock is redesignated as

a foreshock. Aftershocks are formed as the crust around the displacedfault

plane adjusts to the effects of the main shock.[9]

Earthquake swarms

Main article: Earthquake swarm

Earthquake swarms are sequences of earthquakes striking in a specific area within a

short period of time. They are different from earthquakes followed by a series

of aftershocks by the fact that no single earthquake in the sequence is obviously the

main shock, therefore none have notable higher magnitudes than the other. An

example of an earthquake swarm is the 2004 activity at Yellowstone National Park.[11]

Earthquake storms

Main article: Earthquake storm

Sometimes a series of earthquakes occur in a sort of earthquake storm, where the

earthquakes strike a fault in clusters, each triggered by the shaking or stress

redistribution of the previous earthquakes. Similar to aftershocks but on adjacent

segments of fault, these storms occur over the course of years, and with some of the

later earthquakes as damaging as the early ones. Such a pattern was observed in

the sequence of about a dozen earthquakes that struck the North Anatolian Fault in

Turkey in the 20th century and has been inferred for older anomalous clusters of

large earthquakes in the Middle East. [12][13]

Size and frequency of occurrence

There are around 500,000 earthquakes each year. 100,000 of these can actually be

felt.[14][15] Minor earthquakes occur nearly constantly around the world in places

like California and Alaska in the U.S., as well as

in Guatemala. Chile, Peru, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan,

the Azores in Portugal, Turkey, New Zealand, Greece, Italy, and Japan, but

earthquakes can occur almost anywhere, includingNew York City, London, and

Australia.[16] Larger earthquakes occur less frequently, the relationship

being exponential; for example, roughly ten times as many earthquakes larger than

magnitude 4 occur in a particular time period than earthquakes larger than

magnitude 5. In the (low seismicity) United Kingdom, for example, it has been

calculated that the average recurrences are: an earthquake of 3.7 - 4.6 every year,

an earthquake of 4.7 - 5.5 every 10 years, and an earthquake of 5.6 or larger every

100 years.[17] This is an example of the Gutenberg-Richter law.

The Messina earthquake and tsunami took as many as 200,000 lives on December

28, 1908 in Sicily and Calabria.[18]

The number of seismic stations has increased from about 350 in 1931 to many

thousands today. As a result, many more earthquakes are reported than in the past,

but this is because of the vast improvement in instrumentation, rather than an

increase in the number of earthquakes. The USGS estimates that, since 1900, there

have been an average of 18 major earthquakes (magnitude 7.0-7.9) and one great
earthquake (magnitude 8.0 or greater) per year, and that this average has been

relatively stable.[19] In recent years, the number of major earthquakes per year has

decreased, although this is thought likely to be a statistical fluctuation rather than a

systematic trend. More detailed statistics on the size and frequency of earthquakes

is available from the USGS.[20]

Most of the world's earthquakes (90%, and 81% of the largest) take place in the

40,000-km-long, horseshoe-shaped zone called the circum-Pacific seismic belt,

known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, which for the most part bounds the Pacific Plate.[21]
[22]
 Massive earthquakes tend to occur along other plate boundaries, too, such as

along the Himalayan Mountains.

With the rapid growth of mega-cities such as Mexico City, Tokyo and Tehran, in

areas of high seismic risk, some seismologists are warning that a single quake may

claim the lives of up to 3 million people.[23]

Induced seismicity

Main article: Induced seismicity

While most earthquakes are caused by movement of the Earth's tectonic plates,

human activity can also produce earthquakes. Four main activities contribute to this

phenomenon: constructing largedams and buildings, drilling and injecting liquid

into wells, and by coal mining and oil drilling.[24] Perhaps the best known example is

the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China's Sichuan Province in May; this tremor

resulted in 69,227 fatalities and is the 19th deadliest earthquake of all time.

The Zipingpu Dam is believed to have fluctuated the pressure of the fault 1,650 feet

(503 m) away; this pressure probably increased the power of the earthquake and

accelerated the rate of movement for the fault.[25] The greatest earthquake in

Australia's history was also induced by humanity, through coal mining.The city of

Newcastle was built over a large sector of coal mining areas. The earthquake was

spawned from a fault which reactivated due to the millions of tonnes of rock removed

in the mining process.[26]

Measuring and locating earthquakes

Main article: Seismology

Earthquakes can be recorded by seismometers up to great distances,

because seismic waves travel through the whole Earth's interior. The absolute

magnitude of a quake is conventionally reported by numbers on the Moment

magnitude scale (formerly Richter scale, magnitude 7 causing serious damage over

large areas), whereas the felt magnitude is reported using the modified Mercalli

intensity scale (intensity II-XII).

Every tremor produces different types of seismic waves which travel through rock

with different velocities: the longitudinal P-waves (shock- or pressure waves), the

transverse S-waves (both body waves) and several surface

waves (Rayleigh and Love waves). The propagation velocity of the seismic waves

ranges from approx. 3 km/s up to 13 km/s, depending on the density and elasticity of

the medium. In the Earth's interior the shock- or P waves travel much faster than the

S waves (approx. relation 1.7 : 1). The differences in travel time from the epicentre to

the observatory are a measure of the distance and can be used to image both

sources of quakes and structures within the Earth. Also the depth of

the hypocenter can be computed roughly.

In solid rock P-waves travel at about 6 to 7 km per second; the velocity increases

within the deep mantle to ~13 km/s. The velocity of S-waves ranges from 2–3 km/s
in light sediments and 4–5 km/s in the Earth's crust up to 7 km/s in the deep mantle.

As a consequence, the first waves of a distant earth quake arrive at an observatory

via the Earth's mantle.

Rule of thumb: On the average, the kilometer distance to the earthquake is the

number of seconds between the P and S wave times 8 [27]. Slight deviations are

caused by inhomogenities of subsurface structure. By such analyses of

seismograms the Earth's core was located in 1913 by Beno Gutenberg.

Earthquakes are not only categorized by their magnitude but also by the place where

they occur. The world is divided into 754 Flinn-Engdahl regions (F-E regions), which

are based on political and geographical boundaries as well as seismic activity. More

active zones are divided into smaller F-E regions whereas less active zones belong

to larger F-E regions.

Effects/impacts of earthquakes

1755 copper engraving depicting Lisbonin ruins and in flames after the 1755 Lisbon

earthquake, which killed an estimated 60,000 people. A tsunami overwhelms the

ships in the harbor.

The effects of earthquakes include, but are not limited to, the following:

Shaking and ground rupture

Shaking and ground rupture are the main effects created by earthquakes, principally

resulting in more or less severe damage to buildings and other rigid structures. The

severity of the local effects depends on the complex combination of the

earthquake magnitude, the distance from the epicenter, and the local geological and

geomorphological conditions, which may amplify or reduce wave propagation.[28] The

ground-shaking is measured by ground acceleration.

Specific local geological, geomorphological, and geostructural features can induce

high levels of shaking on the ground surface even from low-intensity earthquakes.

This effect is called site or local amplification. It is principally due to the transfer of

the seismic motion from hard deep soils to soft superficial soils and to effects of

seismic energy focalization owing to typical geometrical setting of the deposits.

Ground rupture is a visible breaking and displacement of the Earth's surface along

the trace of the fault, which may be of the order of several metres in the case of

major earthquakes. Ground rupture is a major risk for large engineering structures

such as dams, bridges and nuclear power stations and requires careful mapping of

existing faults to identify any likely to break the ground surface within the life of the

structure.[29]

Landslides and avalanches

Main article: Landslide

Earthquakes, along with severe storms, volcanic activity, coastal wave attack, and

wildfires, can produce slope instability leading to landslides, a major geological

hazard. Landslide danger may persist while emergency personnel are attempting

rescue.[30]

Fires
Fires of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake

Earthquakes can cause fires by damaging electrical power or gas lines. In the event

of water mains rupturing and a loss of pressure, it may also become difficult to stop

the spread of a fire once it has started. For example, more deaths in the 1906 San

Francisco earthquake were caused by fire than by the earthquake itself. [31]

Soil liquefaction

Main article: Soil liquefaction

Soil liquefaction occurs when, because of the shaking, water-

saturated granular material (such as sand) temporarily loses its strength and

transforms from asolid to a liquid. Soil liquefaction may cause rigid structures, like

buildings and bridges, to tilt or sink into the liquefied deposits. This can be a

devastating effect of earthquakes. For example, in the 1964 Alaska earthquake, soil

liquefaction caused many buildings to sink into the ground, eventually collapsing

upon themselves.[32]

Tsunami

Main article: Tsunami
The tsunami of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

Tsunamis are long-wavelength, long-period sea waves produced by the sudden or

abrupt movement of large volumes of water. In the open ocean the distance between

wave crests can surpass 100 kilometers (62 miles), and the wave periods can vary

from five minutes to one hour. Such tsunamis travel 600-800 kilometers per hour

(373–497 miles per hour), depending on water depth. Large waves produced by an

earthquake or a submarine landslide can overrun nearby coastal areas in a matter of

minutes. Tsunamis can also travel thousands of kilometers across open ocean and

wreak destruction on far shores hours after the earthquake that generated them. [33]

Ordinarily, subduction earthquakes under magnitude 7.5 on the Richter scale do not

cause tsunamis, although some instances of this have been recorded. Most

destructive tsunamis are caused by earthquakes of magnitude 7.5 or more. [33]

Floods

Main article: Flood

A flood is an overflow of any amount of water that reaches land. [34] Floods occur

usually when the volume of water within a body of water, such as a river or lake,

exceeds the total capacity of the formation, and as a result some of the water flows

or sits outside of the normal perimeter of the body. However, floods may be
secondary effects of earthquakes, if dams are damaged. Earthquakes may cause

landslips to dam rivers, which then collapse and cause floods. [35]

The terrain below the Sarez Lake in Tajikistan is in danger of catastrophic flood if

the landslide dam formed by the earthquake, known as the Usoi Dam, were to fail

during a future earthquake. Impact projections suggest the flood could affect roughly

5 million people.[36]

Tidal forces

Research work has shown a robust correlation between small tidally induced forces

and non-volcanic tremor activity.[37][38][39][40]

Human impacts

Damaged infrastructure, one week after the 2007 Peru earthquake

Earthquakes may lead to disease, lack of basic necessities, loss of life, higher

insurance premiums, general property damage, road and bridge damage, and

collapse or destabilization (potentially leading to future collapse) of buildings.

Earthquakes can also precede volcanic eruptions, which cause further problems; for

example, substantial crop damage, as in the "Year Without a Summer" (1816).[41]

The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with

an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately 25 km (16 miles) west of Port-

au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC)

on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.[5][6] By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks measuring

4.5 or greater had been recorded.[7] An estimated three million people were affected

by the quake;[8] the Haitian Government reported that an estimated 230,000 people

had died, 300,000 had been injured and 1,000,000 made homeless. [9][10] They also

estimated that 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed

or were severely damaged.[11]

The earthquake caused major damage in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and other

settlements in the region. Many notable landmark buildings were significantly

damaged or destroyed, including the Presidential Palace, the National

Assembly building, the Port-au-Prince Cathedral, and the main jail. Among those

killed were Archbishop of Port-au-Prince Joseph Serge Miot,[12] and opposition

leader Micha Gaillard.[13][14] The headquarters of the United Nations Stabilization

Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), located in the capital, collapsed, killing many,

including the Mission's Chief, Hédi Annabi.[15][16]

Many countries responded to appeals for humanitarian aid, pledging funds and

dispatching rescue and medical teams, engineers and support personnel.

Communication systems, air, land, and sea transport facilities, hospitals, and

electrical networks had been damaged by the earthquake, which hampered rescue

and aid efforts; confusion over who was in charge, air traffic congestion, and

problems with prioritisation of flights further complicated early relief work. Port-au-

Prince's morgues were quickly overwhelmed with many tens of thousands of bodies

having to be buried in mass graves.[17] As rescues tailed off, supplies, medical care

and sanitation became priorities. Delays in aid distribution led to angry appeals from

aid workers and survivors, and looting and sporadic violence were observed.

On 22 January the United Nations noted that the emergency phase of the relief

operation was drawing to a close, and on the following day the Haitian government

officially called off the search for survivors.

Background

The island of Hispaniola, shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic,

is seismically active and has a history of destructive earthquakes. During Haiti's time

as a French colony, earthquakes were recorded by French historian Moreau de

Saint-Méry (1750–1819). He described damage done by an earthquake in 1751,

writing that "only one masonry building had not collapsed" in Port-au-Prince; he also

wrote that the "whole city collapsed" in the 1770 Port-au-Prince earthquake. Cap-

Haïtien, other towns in the north of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and the Sans-

Souci Palace were destroyed during an earthquake on 7 May 1842. [18] A magnitude

8.0 earthquake struck the Dominican Republic and shook Haiti on 4 August 1946,

producing a tsunami that killed 1,790 people and injured many others. [19]
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere,[20] and is ranked 149th of

182 countries on the Human Development Index.[21] The Australian government's

travel advisory site had previously expressed concerns that Haitian emergency

services would be unable to cope in the event of a major disaster, [22] and the country

is considered "economically vulnerable" by the Food and Agriculture Organization.

[23]
 It is no stranger to natural disasters; in addition to earthquakes, it has been struck

frequently by cyclones, which have caused flooding and widespread damage. The

most recent cyclones to hit the island before the earthquake were Tropical Storm

Fay and Hurricanes Gustav, Hanna and Ike, all in the summer of 2008, causing

nearly 800 deaths.[24]

[edit]Geology

USGS intensity map

Map showing regional tectonic setting of the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone

Tiny dots of white against the plant-covered landscape (red in this image) are

possible landslides, a common occurrence in mountainous terrain after large

earthquakes. The Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone runs along the two linear

valleys at the top of the image

The magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake occurred inland, on 12 January 2010 at

16:53 UTC-5, approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) WSW from Port-au-Prince at a

depth of 13 kilometres (8.1 mi)[5] on the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault system.

[25]
 Strong shaking associated with intensity IX on the Modified Mercalli scale (MM)

was recorded in Port-au-Prince and its suburbs. It was also felt in several

surrounding countries and regions, including Cuba (MM III in Guantánamo), Jamaica

(MM II in Kingston), Venezuela (MM II in Caracas), Puerto Rico (MM II–III inSan
Juan), and the bordering Dominican Republic (MM III in Santo Domingo).[1]
[26]
 According to estimates from the USGS, approximately 3.5 million people lived in

the area that experienced shaking intensity of MM VII to X, [1] a range that can cause

moderate to very heavy damage even to earthquake-resistant structures.

The quake occurred in the vicinity of the northern boundary where

the Caribbean tectonic plate shifts eastwards by about 20 millimetres (0.79 in) per

year in relation to the North American plate. The strike-slip fault system in the region

has two branches in Haiti, the Septentrional-Oriente fault in the north and the

Enriquillo-Plaintain Garden fault in the south; both its location and focal

mechanism suggest that the January 2010 quake was caused by a rupture of the

Enriquillo-Plaintain Garden fault, which had been locked for 250 years,

gathering stress.[27] The rupture was roughly 65 kilometres (40 mi) long with mean

slip of 1.8 metres (5.9 ft).[28] Preliminary analysis of the slip distribution found

amplitudes of up to about 4 metres (13 ft) using ground motion records from all over

the world.[29][30]

A 2007 earthquake hazard study by C. DeMets and M. Wiggins-Grandison noted

that the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone could be at the end of its seismic cycle

and concluded that a worst-case forecast would involve a 7.2 M w earthquake, similar

in size to the1692 Jamaica earthquake.[31] Paul Mann and a group including the 2006

study team presented a hazard assessment of the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault

system to the 18th Caribbean Geologic Conference in March 2008, noting the large

strain; the team recommended "high priority" historical geologic rupture studies, as

the fault was fully locked and had recorded few earthquakes in the preceding 40

years.[32] An article published in Haiti's Le Matin newspaper in September 2008 cited

comments by geologist Patrick Charles to the effect that there was a high risk of

major seismic activity in Port-au-Prince.[33]

[edit]Aftershocks

History of the main shock and aftershocks with magnitudes larger than 4.0, data from

USGS[34]

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) recorded eight aftershocks in the two

hours after the main earthquake, with magnitudes between 4.3 and 5.9. [34] Within the

first nine hours 32 aftershocks of magnitude 4.2 or greater were recorded, 12 of

which measured magnitude 5.0 or greater, and on January 24 USGS reported that

there had been 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater since the January 12 quake.
[34]

On 20 January at 06:03 local time (11:03 UTC) the strongest aftershock since the

earthquake,[35] measuring magnitude 5.9 Mw, struck Haiti.[36] USGS reported its

epicentre was about 56 kilometres (35 miles) WSW of Port-au-Prince,[34] which would

place it almost exactly under the coastal town of Petit-Goâve. A UN representative

reported that the aftershock collapsed seven buildings in the town. [37] According to

staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross, who had reached Petit-Goâve

for the first time the day before the aftershock, the town was estimated to have lost

15% of its buildings, and was suffering the same shortages of supplies and medical

care as the capital.[38] Workers from the charity Save the Childrenreported hearing

"already weakened structures collapsing" in Port-au-Prince, [35] but most sources

reported no further significant damage to infrastructure in the city. Further casualties

are thought to have been minimal since people had been sleeping in the open.
[37]
 There are concerns that the 12 January earthquake could be the beginning of a

new long-term sequence: "the whole region is fearful"; historical accounts, although

not precise, suggest that there has been a sequence of quakes progressing

westwards along the fault, starting with an earthquake in the Dominican Republic in

1751.[39]

[edit]Tsunami

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning immediately after the

initial quake,[40] but quickly cancelled it.[41] Nearly two weeks later it was reported that

the beach of the small fishing town of Petit Paradis was hit by a localised tsunami

wave shortly after the earthquake, probably as a result of an underwater slide, and

this was later confirmed by researchers.[2] At least three people were swept out to

sea by the wave and were reported dead. Witnesses told reporters that the sea first

retreated and a "very big wave" followed rapidly, crashing ashore and sweeping

boats and debris into the ocean.[42]

U.S. President Barack Obama announced that former presidents Bill Clinton,

who also acts as the UN special envoy to Haiti, and George W. Bush would

coordinate efforts to raise funds for Haiti's recovery. Secretary of State Hillary

Clinton visited Haiti on 16 January to survey the damage and stated that

US$48 million had been raised already in the U.S. to help Haiti recover.[198]
Following the meeting with Secretary Clinton, President Préval stated that the

highest priorities in Haiti's recovery were establishing a working government,

clearing roads, and ensuring the streets were cleared of bodies to improve

sanitary conditions.[199]

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden stated on 16 January that President Obama

"does not view this as a humanitarian mission with a life cycle of a month. This

will still be on our radar screen long after it's off the crawler at CNN. This is

going to be a long slog."[200]

Planes loaded with aid supplies crowd the tarmac at Port-au-Prince airport,

waiting to be unloaded, 18 January

Trade and Industry Minister Josseline Colimon Fethiere estimated that the

earthquake's toll on the Haitian economy would be massive, with one in five

jobs lost.[201] In response to the earthquake, foreign governments offered

badly needed financial aid. The European Union promised €330 million

(US$474 million) for emergency and long-term aid. Brazil announced R$375

million (US$210 million) for long-term recovery aid, US$15 million of which in

immediate funds.[202] The United Kingdom's Secretary of State for

International Development Douglas Alexander called the result of the

earthquake an "almost unprecedented level of devastation", and committed

the UK to ₤20 million (US$32.7 million) in aid, while France promised €10
million (US$14.4 million). Italy announced it would waive repayment of the €40

million (US$55.7 million) it had loaned to Haiti,[143] and the World Bank waived

the country's debt repayments for five years.[203] On 14 January, the U.S.

government announced it would give US$100 million to the aid effort and

pledged that the people of Haiti "will not be forgotten".[204]

The UN Development Programme employed hundreds of Haitians to clear

roads and to make fuel pellets in a cash-for-work scheme

The government of Canada announced that it would match the donations of

Canadians up to a total of CAD$50 million.[205] After a United Nations call for

help for the people affected by the earthquake, Canada pledged an additional

CAD$60 million (US$58 million) in aid, bringing Canada's total contribution to

CAD$135 million (US$131.5 million).[206]

President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal offered interested Haitians free land in

Senegal; depending on how many respond to the offer, this could include up

to an entire region.[207][dead link]

A U.S. mobile air traffic control tower is moved to Haiti by a Russian transport

plane
Prime Minister Bellerive announced that from 20 January, people would be

helped to relocate outside the zone of devastation, to areas where they may be

able to rely on relatives or better fend for themselves; people who have been

made homeless would be relocated to the makeshift camps created by

residents within the city, where a more focused delivery of aid and sanitation

could be achieved.[143] Port-au-Prince, according to an international studies

professor at the University of Miami, was ill-equipped before the disaster to

sustain the number of people who had migrated there from the countryside

over the past ten years to find work.[208] After the earthquake, thousands of

Port-au-Prince residents began returning to the rural towns from which they

had come.[209]

On 25 January a one-day conference was held in Montreal to assess the relief

effort and discuss further plans. Prime Minister Bellerive told delegates from

20 countries that Haiti would need "massive support" for its recovery from the

international community. A donors' conference was expected to be held at the

UN headquarters in New York in March,[203] however, took more than three

months to hold the UN conference. The 26-member international Interim Haiti

Reconstruction Commission, headed by Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister

Jean-Max Bellerive, didn't convene until last June. That committee is set to

oversee the $5.3 billion pledged internationally for the first two years of Haiti's

reconstruction — money separate from the total spent on humanitarian aid.

Ten percent of it has been delivered, mostly as forgiven debt. The rest is mired

in politics and bureaucracy of more than 60 countries and organizations that

pledged to help.
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