Housing, location, poverty, and hurricanes all contributed to the massive loss of life in the 2010 Haiti earthquake: 1) Most of the 3 million people in Port-au-Prince lived in slums with poorly constructed housing built on steep slopes without foundations or building codes. 2) The earthquake struck near the capital at a shallow depth, causing widespread damage. 3) Two-thirds of Haitians lived on less than $1 per day, and many resided in extreme poverty without access to basic necessities. 4) Previous hurricanes had destroyed farms, caused food shortages, and increased urban migration, straining housing availability. Political troubles and an unstable government

1. Why Did so many People Die in the Haiti Earthquake of 12 th January 2010?

4. Location The earthquake was located 113 Miles from the plate boundary between the Caribbean Plate and the North American Plate Transform/ conservative plate boundary with one plate sliding past another There have been no large earthquakes in Haiti for 200 years Earthquake was 7.3 on Richter scale,15km from the Capital Port au Prince and only 6 miles deep

5. Hurricanes In 2008 a thousand people were killed and up to a million were made homeless after four hurricanes struck around the important town of Gonaives in as many weeks Haiti has found it difficult to recover from the cost of the damage caused by the hurricanes in 2004 and 2008 Thousands of farms were destroyed and there was a national food shortage The hurricanes of 2008 have forced hundreds of thousands more people to flood into Port au Prince

6. Housing 3 Million people live in Port au Prince with the majority living in slum conditions after rapid urbanisation. 300,000 people live in the Cité Soleil slum where there are no paved roads or sewers and little to no water or electricity supply . Most houses are self built; made out of breeze blocks and scrap, with no foundations or rules restricting height. Many houses are built on steep hillsides. Large families (as many as 15) live in cramped conditions in the poorer houses

7. Poverty 66% of the population of Haiti earn less than £1 a day with 56% of the population classed as “extremely poor” Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere Many of the poorest people eat mud cakes to stop them from feeling hungry Many of the population of Port au Prince are uneducated and work in informal jobs around the city.

8. Political Troubles President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was overthrown during rioting in 2004. The country has a new president René Préval but the government is very unstable. UN Troops patrol the streets. People in Haiti blame the government for riots caused by the price of rice, beans and fruit rising by 50% from 2007-2008 Very little government money has been spent on improving the quality of buildings, hospitals and roads. The government is now officially the most corrupt on earth!

9. Put the five factors in the order that you think were most to blame for the high number of deaths Political troubles Housing Hurricanes Location Poverty Least to blame Most to blame

10. Why Did so many People Die in the Haiti Earthquake of 12 th January 2010?