Running head: DISASTER OF PORT-AU-PRINCE 1 DISASTER OF PORT-AU-PRINCE 2 DISASTER OF PORT-AU-PRINCE Summary of the Event Port-Au-Prince is the capital city of Haiti located at coordinates 18°32′N 72°20′W. Haiti is an island nation in the Caribbean. The city is located by the sea on the Gulf of Gonave, a deep natural harbor. The city is ringed with hills. The island of Haiti overlies a fault line in the earth’s crust, the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault system (Marley, 2005). Haiti is a 3rd World Country and consequently, the city is a third world city. It has a population of 1,897,846 souls within its boundaries. For a country to be defined as a third world country, it must fulfill at least two of the following three conditions, first, its main source of income is mainly from agricultural or mining activities. Secondly, its education, health and infrastructure sectors must be poorly developed as indicated by high levels of mortality, low life expectancy and high illiteracy levels among the population. Thirdly the per capita income of the population should be less than $1000 per annum. Using this criterion, Port-au-Prince qualifies as a third world city. The main driver of the economy of Port-au-Prince is the export of coffee and sugar thus agriculture is the main driver of the economy of the City. Secondly, the city has only two operational hospitals, which operate at low efficiency. The city has a number of highways but they are poorly maintained and only see limited use. The infant mortality rate is 55 deaths per 1000 live births, a very high number compared to only 6 per 1000 births in other countries. The GDP per capita for the city is $851 per annum. Therefore, port au prince fulfils all three criteria and is therefore classified as a third world country (Tobin, 2013). The natural hazards that could affect Port-au-Price include Earthquakes, Tsunamis, hurricanes, Landslides, Floods and wild fires (Wade, 2010). On 12 January 2010 4:53 pm, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Port-au-Prince and it wrecked the city. Several buildings were lost including a number of government buildings such as the legislative palace which housed parliament, the palace of Justice which housed the Supreme Court, the presidential palace, several ministerial buildings, the city’s main hospital , the sea port, and the airport. The death toll was estimated to be about 160,000 people with official government records reporting as high as 220,000 deaths. The government estimated that 250,000 residences were destroyed, 30,000 commercial buildings were brought down, and an estimated 3,000,000 people were affected as a result of the quake (ABC News, 2010). Roles of Response Agencies As a result of the 2010 earthquake, Port-au-Prince is in a precarious position with respect to any Natural disaster. Already, the damage that an earthquake can do to the city has already materialized. The whole city, and indeed the country was brought ...

1. Running head: DISASTER OF PORT-AU-PRINCE 1
DISASTER OF PORT-AU-PRINCE 2
DISASTER OF PORT-AU-PRINCE
Summary of the Event
Port-Au-Prince is the capital city of Haiti located at coordinates
18°32′N 72°20′W. Haiti is an island nation in the Caribbean.
The city is located by the sea on the Gulf of Gonave, a deep

2. natural harbor. The city is ringed with hills. The island of Haiti
overlies a fault line in the earth’s crust, the Enriquillo-Plantain
Garden fault system (Marley, 2005).
Haiti is a 3rd World Country and consequently, the city is a
third world city. It has a population of 1,897,846 souls within
its boundaries. For a country to be defined as a third world
country, it must fulfill at least two of the following three
conditions, first, its main source of income is mainly from
agricultural or mining activities. Secondly, its education, health
and infrastructure sectors must be poorly developed as indicated
by high levels of mortality, low life expectancy and high
illiteracy levels among the population. Thirdly the per capita
income of the population should be less than $1000 per annum.
Using this criterion, Port-au-Prince qualifies as a third world
city. The main driver of the economy of Port-au-Prince is the
export of coffee and sugar thus agriculture is the main driver of
the economy of the City. Secondly, the city has only two
operational hospitals, which operate at low efficiency. The city
has a number of highways but they are poorly maintained and
only see limited use. The infant mortality rate is 55 deaths per
1000 live births, a very high number compared to only 6 per
1000 births in other countries. The GDP per capita for the city
is $851 per annum. Therefore, port au prince fulfils all three
criteria and is therefore classified as a third world country
(Tobin, 2013).
The natural hazards that could affect Port-au-Price include
Earthquakes, Tsunamis, hurricanes, Landslides, Floods and wild
fires (Wade, 2010).
On 12 January 2010 4:53 pm, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck
Port-au-Prince and it wrecked the city. Several buildings were
lost including a number of government buildings such as the
legislative palace which housed parliament, the palace of
Justice which housed the Supreme Court, the presidential
palace, several ministerial buildings, the city’s main hospital ,
the sea port, and the airport. The death toll was estimated to be
about 160,000 people with official government records

3. reporting as high as 220,000 deaths. The government estimated
that 250,000 residences were destroyed, 30,000 commercial
buildings were brought down, and an estimated 3,000,000
people were affected as a result of the quake (ABC News,
2010).
Roles of Response Agencies
As a result of the 2010 earthquake, Port-au-Prince is in a
precarious position with respect to any Natural disaster.
Already, the damage that an earthquake can do to the city has
already materialized. The whole city, and indeed the country
was brought to a standstill as all major government operations
had been centralized in the city. The destruction of the
government buildings and records simply made government
operations impossible. Social services and amenities such as
running water, hospitals and schools were severely curtailed.
The bursting of sewage pies which have contaminated available
water has caused an outbreak of cholera which is still
continuing to date since 2010. Should a hurricane strike Port-
au-Prince now, the immediate effect would be the loss of
numerous lives as a result of exposure to the elements. The first
people to die would be the children, the elderly and those with
compromised immune systems either as a result of disease or
malnourishment. Immediately afterwards, there would be an
outbreak of water-communicable diseases such as cholera,
Typhoid, Bilharzia and Malaria as a result of the flooded
conditions of the city. This would also claim a fair share of
lives. The heavy rain would also trigger landslides in the hilly
areas surrounding the city, resulting into people being buried
alive, and further deaths. Should lightning strike the city and
start a fire. The fire would rapidly spread among the informal
settlements that comprise a great section of the city. This would
result into the deaths of people and the destruction of property.
The city is located next to the seas shore and in the event of a
Tsunami following an earthquake, a large portion of people
would be swept out to sea (Wade, 2010).
The effect of these hazards would be a breakdown in the social

4. structure of the country. An earthquake would collapse
hundreds of buildings, a hurricane would cause damage to
numerous buildings and displacement of people from their
homes, the consequent flooding would cause an outbreak water-
borne diseases that would further decimate the population. A
tsunami would wipe away the sea harbor which is a crucial trade
point for the country.
Crisis Responders
Due to its status as a third world country, there were no
established local first responders following the disaster. This
fact contributed to the numerous deaths which followed the
disaster. Effective Emergency response was first conducted by
the International Red Cross who set up humanitarian centers all
over the island and helped in the distribution of food, shelter
and other emergency relief supplies. There were also numerous
donations received from the international community as well as
an influx of volunteers who wished to help in the disaster
recovery effort. All these people were coordinated by the
International Red Cross, assigning each of the various duties
according to their skills.
Crisis Response Objectives
The most threatening hazard to Port-au-prince following the
damage inflicted by the 2010 earthquake would be a hurricane.
This is because the copious amounts of water and the high
winds associated with the occurrence of a hurricane would have
a severe toll on the people who have poor shelter and medical
facilities. In order to mitigate the effects of such an occurrence,
the first agenda should be government organization and
structure. The government should be clearly organized with
departments and a clear hierarchy to ensure responsibility
distributed manageably and that people are answerable for their
actions. There should be established a disaster forecast, warning
and management system. This unit should be responsible for
preparing the country for the event of a disaster which they are
most at risk by making plans, contingencies and protocols to
follow in the event of such outcomes. Additionally, the public

5. should be educated about disasters and the measures to take in
the event of a natural disaster of any type such as earthquakes
and floods. There should be created an emergency broadcast
system and the public made aware of it so as to ensure efficient
communication between the government and the people in case
of an emergency and for forecasting purposes (Wade, 2010).
Strategies for Future Recurrences
A hurricane is an event that can be tracked and forecast long
before it reaches the city. Therefore, in the event of a hurricane,
the first thing to do is to issue a hurricane warning and initiate a
relief program. The focus of the program is disaster relief and
not evacuation. I would build hurricane shelters all over the city
and advise people to head to this point in the event of a
hurricane. These centers would be fully stocked with food and
water enough to feed over 200 people for several days if not
months. This plan is feasible since the population of port-au-
prince is not extremely large. For those people caught in the
city during the hurricane, I would advise them to find the
highest sheltered point they could, or if they could, head into
the hills where the risk of flooding is significantly reduced
(Wade, 2010).
Currently Port-au-Prince and all of Haiti is creating a disaster
relief management fund which can be used for services in the
event of a disaster such as the 20110 earthquake. They have set
up a disaster relief commission to address disasters if and when
they occur. The United Nations, The Red Cross and other
humanitarian aid agencies have established offices in the
country to help with disaster relief.
Challenge
The main challenge faced by the response teams was the poor
infrastructure of the country. This had been further compounded
by the wreckage brought about by the disaster, thereby
compounding the problems. Additionally, due to the scarcity of
relief food and medical supplies, gangs had formed which aimed
to take control of the supply chain and thereby profit from
controlling the distribution of these crucial supplies. Thirdly,

6. being a tropical country, the volunteers as well as the staff of
The Red Cross also developed tropical diseases, resulting in a
drop in their efficiency.
References
ABC News. (2010, February 9). Haiti Raises Earthquake's Death
Toll to 230,000. Retrieved from ABC News:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=9790622
Marley, D. (2005). Historic Cities of the Americas. Santa
Barbara, CA: ABC-CLio.
Tobin, K. A. (2013). Population Density and Housing in Port-
au-Prince. Journal of Urban History, 39(6), 1045-1061.
Wade, J. (2010). After Haiti: The Future of Disasters. Rsik
Maagement, 57, 1-7.