Reasons for High Death Toll in Haiti 2010 Earthquake

Reasons for High Death Toll in Haiti 2010 Earthquake

In our contemporary society, natural disasters are a common phenomenon that leads to increased poverty rates with reduced economic growth within a nation. Natural disasters can be as a result of human interference with nature or nature-oriented. Poverty, on the other sides, can be a significant source of hazards within a nation. The inability of a country to oversee the impacts of debt to its surroundings is one reason for the emergence of uncontrollable disasters. Efficient government implementation of its strategies regarding poverty cases may reduce the immense consequences arising from the occurrence of natural disasters.

Haiti was termed as one of the poorest countries within the western hemisphere as a result of earthquake occurrence on January 12, 2010. The deadly tremor was caused more by human factors compared to geological reasons. About 230,000 lives were lost, and over 300,000 homes were damaged and destroyed in Port-au-Prince city, the capital metropolis of Haiti. Back then, the city was recognized as the most growing town with a demanding population. The quake killed 25 percent of public servants resulting in the ineffective and slow human rescue response by the government. The act not only led to a displaced population but also resulted in slowing response by UN relief ambassadors.

Earthquakes are a sudden collision of two blocks within the earth’s surface as a result of seismic waves. It hit Haiti at a magnitude of 7.0, which led to aftershocks occurrences that damaged buildings as a result of the trembling of the earth. Discussed below are three primary reasons for the increased death toll in the Haiti 2010 earthquake.

1. Fragile infrastructure

Port-au-Prince metropolitan back then experienced a constant development from the continual population growth. Infrastructural development includes both building structures as well as any events desired to improve the basic needs of a human being. The earthquake was considered to be poverty oriented rather than for geological reasons in Haiti since the quake itself was less sturdy. Its impact was significant despite lasting for a few hours.

In developing nations, earthquake strikes similar to that of Haiti could cause less harm to the population compared to Haiti’s impacts. For instance, in Japan, an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1 underneath in March 2011 affected about 14,000 residents, which are a lower number compared to Haiti. The same quake had occurred in 1989 in California, killing 63 residents. The magnitude coverage was slightly higher in Japan than that of Haiti, proving that infrastructure development was poor in Haiti. According to… how a nation develops and maintains its structures determines the prevalence of natural disasters.

Research by geological survey experts proves that the tremor in Haiti focused at the epicenter, which was roughly 10 kilometers below the earth’s surface. The quake epicenter was close to the metropolitan proving the high destruction repercussions. Furthermore, the seismologists within the region concurred by mentioning that the rise in the poverty level resulted in more death rates. This is because buildings constructed in the town had unfortunate structural developments. Most of them were built close to the surface with weak structures. The earthquake collapsed quickly from the minimum impacts of shocks. If the buildings had a stronger structural foundation, fewer effects could be ascertained.

Urbanization with less planning majorly causes disastrous risks. Unreinforced buildings in the Haiti area were due to mismanagement of the planning concepts. Increased urban growth often concentrates human settlement in one place, especially those who desire to improve their livelihoods. The best way to curb excessive damage to structures and death tolls from earthquakes is to create strong building foundations that can resist underground shocks. This way, fewer deaths will be encountered.

2. Weak political governance

Tremors frequently alternate to disasters, especially when good governance lacks during the event. Poverty is also introduced into the system, which is catastrophic to suffering citizens. Climate change is frequent in governments with poor leadership standards and results in more miserable conditions among citizens. The increased deforestation levels within Haiti only exposed the country to environmental threats, including earthquakes. The majority of Haitians living in Port-au-Prince were in shanty areas whose buildings were adjacent to steep hillsides. The inability of the government to identify such misconducts only led to more death tolls in the area. Residences could not be rescued urgently due to the dangers arising from the exposed steep hillsides.

After the tremor, most institutions headed by the government were significantly affected. According to…. About 25% of the public servants situated in the capital city were revealed dead from earthquake destructions. This prompted the slow gesture response by the government in for relief aids. Findings indicate that the majority of many unreported deaths were encountered after earthquake manifestation due to a lack of constant aids by the government.

The inability of the government to convey early warning systems of earthquakes to ensure the safety of its democrats contributed significantly to the high death rates. The Caribbean Republic had predicted the compression building occurrence, which was wise enough for Haiti nation to consider safety precautions. Instead, the inability to protect the ecosystem prompted further risks later.

Many aids in terms of finances, accommodation, and food were offered to the survivors. There were no personnel approved to be in charge of aids, which created more disasters. A few who could scramble for the resource aids in time benefited, whereas the weak continued to die. Moreover, the government put more effort into the clearance of deceased bodies instead of focusing on enduring survivors. Is This was the worst step taken since the survivors with injuries continued to have worsened situations.

As a result of many deaths of United Nations senior managers and employees from their collapsed buildings, less support was granted to Haitians. Instead, they deployed 10,000 militants to restore road infrastructure. The assigned soldiers created fear among Haitians who, at that time, only needed basic necessities. They hoped for doctors to treat their pain and food to relieve their hunger. The UN put much effort into peacebuilding instead of offering relief aids, which was more harmful to lives.

3. Limited access to basic resources

In normal circumstances, slow and inconsistent relief aids during disasters ultimately lead to an increased number of casualties. After several days from the incident occurrence, the World Food Program, the United Nations, among other countries, offered help to the affected Haitians. Before then, the Haitians victims had lost their families due to the lack of relief aids by the government. Most of the supporters turned their help to shelters focusing less on food and medical services, which lead to more death incidences.

The majority of government focused on attending to their affected families devoting their services to the U.S. the act negatively impacted the Haitians since the U.S. took more time in organizing aids. Haiti government had experienced water shortages prior to the disaster, and the situation became worse as a result of a lack of communication. According to…. About a quarter of the reported deaths were due to a lack of food and medical services in the event of earthquakes. The roads, ports, and airports were immensely damaged hence slowing the effectiveness of aids.

Strong surviving Haitians helped in identifying corpses before the effectiveness of the U.s army. More lootings and violence arose during aids that hampered the delivery of medical and food services. Before an amicable agreement was made, the U.S. army prevented the landing of MSF medical teams and food aids. This not only created more havoc in inefficient hospitals. There were more causalities compared to available medicines and health practitioners. Findings indicated that about 20,000 deaths were reported daily from individuals who could have survived surgery services. Most agencies were limited from the disaster leading to poor timing of delivery of relief resources. All these factors contributed to the rising number of deaths within Haiti.

The 2010 Haiti earthquake significantly led to the high number of death tolls reports. The presence of poor infrastructural developments, limited access to relief resources, and poor governance greatly impacted the number of reported deaths. The increased poverty rates within the Haiti government worsened the catastrophic event. Today, the Haiti government is among the listed poorest countries within the western hemisphere due to the natural disaster repercussions. Earthquakes result from sudden collisions of rocks underneath the earth resulting from seismic waves. Good governance within the nation reduces the risks from earthquakes. This is because they are identified faster, and safety precautions are taken to protect the citizens from its effects.