Msc PHDE, Pokhara University, School of engineering, Cse study on Haiti disaster in 2010

1. Case Study in Engineering &
Management in Disaster
2010 Haiti Disaster
Pradip Giri & Rajan Gurung
Class Roll No:10 & 11
M.Sc. in Public Health & Disaster Engineering
School of Engineering
Pokhara University

5. Situation in Haiti before Quake
• Haiti – 9.7M people
• Metro Port-au-Prince (PAP) {Haiti Capital} – 2.4M
people
• 80% of all economic activity in PAP
• 67% of PAP population in “informal areas”
• Average living space in informal areas: 1,98
m2/person
• 30% in PAP have access to Sanitation
• 54% in PAP have access to clean water
• Highly prone to natural disaster(Hurricanes,floods)

6. Political Background
• Violent political history
• Upcoming Presedential elections
• Unpopular UN peacekeeping operation since
2004
• Recent food riots after food price rose 40%
• Remittances make up 20% of GDP

7. Introduction
• 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck near capital PAP on
Jan12,2010
• An estimated 2,50,000 people died
• 5M people were displaced
• Nearly, 4000 school were damaged
• Most devastating natural disaster ever experienced in
Haiti
• Poorest country in Western Hemisphere
• Country faced the greatest humanitarian need in its
history

9. Casualties
Number of deaths according to various sources
• Government of Haiti-3,16,000
• United Nations-2,30,000
• Group of US Academics-1,58,000
• USAID:85,000
• Compared to 2004 Tsunami: 2,30,000 death
across 13 countries

10. Logistical Challenges
• Haiti is an island
• The hub,PAP,severely affected
• Airport not operational
• Harbours not operational

11. Initial Rapid Response
• First search and rescue teams in Haiti 22 hours
after the earthquake
• First Red Cross Teams 36 hours after quake
• All large organisations show up rapidly
• Stockpiles are quickly distributed
• US Air Force takes over airport; later criticised
for prioritisation of flight

12. Achievements in 1st six months
• 4M people have received food aid
• 1.2M people have access to safe water daily
• 1.5M people have received emergency shelter
materials
• 11,000 latrines have been installed
• 1M people have benefited from cash-for-work
programs

13. Health
• From 12th Jan to 31st Mar:
 MSF carried out of 11,749 operations & treated 1,73,757
cases in total
 The International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement
treated another 95,000 cases
• But
 Despite massive efforts , not enough
 Unequal distribution of aid
 Unequal quality of aid

14. Harmful aid- too many “helpers”
• Influx of thousands of “NGOs”
• No language skills
• No previous experience in developing
countries
• No long term strategy
• No “back office”(transportation ,food,
materials)
• Lots of unwanted gifts in kind

15. Rubble
• 10M cubic meters of rubble
• Rubble contains human remains
• In 2010,2M cubic meter were removed
• Many residents didn’t want to remove rubble
w/o compensation
• No where to put the rubble
• Positive:quick assessment of buildings in port-
au-prince

16. Coordination challenges
• At the beginning only in English
• Meeting on the UN Logistics Base which allow only
access to some
• Haitian authorities and Haitian NGOs were
marginalised
• Coordination receive 1 email per sec
• To many actors
• Little experience in coordinating with the military
• Decisions not always based on humanitarian
principles

18. Money
• Many pledges were not fulfilled
• Haitian government out of the loop & w/o
control over the funds
• History of corruption means most donors
didn’t trust GoH
• Over 90% of money went to the international
actors (UN,private sector,NGOs)

22. Communication
• Establishment of cluster-like mechanism for
“Communication with Disaster Affected
Communities”(CDAC)
• 39M SMS sent by humanitarian organisations
• Over 900,000 calls to Res Cross hotline
• Dedicated radio & TV shows for beneficiaries
• Volunteer & Tech Community as new sector

25. Cholera
• Started in October 2010
• Source: Nepalese peace keepers
• 6,48,000 people infected (MOH)
• 8,000 people died (MoH)
• Haiti had twice as many cholera patients as all
of Africa
• UN rejects claims for compensation

27. Main problems of Haiti Response
• Weak government
• Influx of too many unqualified actors
• Chronic poverty that increased vulnerability
• Lack of involvement of Haitian civil society
• Little experience with urban disasters
• Not enough support for IDPs & their families
outside urban camps

29. Build Change
• Working since 2010 Quake
• Successfully supported more than 1400 homeowners
to safe housing
• Upgrading current technologies ,construction
practices & implementing low cost improvement
solution
• Worked with
 Homeowners
 Government officials
 Construction professional
Finally,become leading implement of retrofitting &
reconstruction in Haiti

31. Strategic Plan for development of Haiti
1. Territorial rebuilding
2. Economical rebuilding
3. Social rebuilding
4. Institutional rebuilding

33. Territorial Rebuilding
1. Plan & develop territory
2. Exercise control over the government
3. Manage watersheds
4. Rehabilitate urban areas
5. Build a nationwide transportation system
6. Improve access to electricity
7. Pursue the expansion of communication &
digital network
8. Extend water supply & sanitation services

34. Economic Rebuilding
1. Implement proactive governance centered on
accelerated & balanced economic growth
2. Modernize & revitalize agriculture & livestock
production
3. Modernize & revitalize the fisheries industry
4. Support industrial development
5. Modernize & revitalize the service sector
6. Support the development of tourism
7. Develop mineral & energy resources
8. Develop employment

35. Social Rebuilding
1. Reinforce higher education, vocational & technical
training
2. Improve access to preschool, elementary & secondary
school
3. Improve access to healthcare services
4. Protect cultural heritage & support cultural production
5. Facilitate access to housing
6. Develop community action, sports, recreation & youth
services
7. Implement social insurance system for all workers
8. Facilitate social support
9. Foster gender equality

36. Institutional Rebuilding
1. Revise the legal framework
2. Reinforce the country’s democratic institutions
3. Modernize the central administration
4. Modernize regionalized administration
5. Decentralize
6. Involve civil society
7. Reinforce administration of justice & law
enforcement