List of earthquakes in Haiti
Encyclopedia
As of 2010, the following major earthquake
s have been recorded in Haiti
.
who has researched in the area for years, and Ross Stein
of the United States Geological Survey
in Menlo Park, California, and colleagues have independently calculated that the earthquake has increased the risk on other segments of the Enriquillo fault and perhaps on other faults, although the quake probably did not increase the risk (which is already known to be high) of a major tremor on the Septentrional fault. Stein suggests that if the calculations are right—noting that they may well not be—something may be "fundamentally locked in some fashion, on pretty much all scales, and might be capable of popping off something large". 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 2010. There are concerns that the 12 January earthquake could be the beginning of a new long-term sequence of both earthquakes and tsunamis: "the whole region is fearful".
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
s have been recorded in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
.
- 1564 quake destroyed of Concepción de la Vega and Santiago de los Caballeros.
- 1701: On November 9, severe destruction occurred and "[p]art of the area along the north shore of the Tiburon Peninsula from Logane to Petit Goave sank into the sea".
- 1751 Port-au-Prince earthquake1751 Port-au-Prince earthquakeThe 1751 Port-au-Prince earthquake occurred at 12:50 UTC on 21 November in French Haiti, followed by a sea wave. Another earthquake was reported at the same location on 15 September of the same year and it is uncertain whether the two reports refer to the same event.-Seismological analysis:Later...
(18 October): According to French historian Moreau de Saint-MéryMederic Louis Elie Moreau de Saint-MeryMédéric Louis Élie Moreau de Saint-Méry was a French historian and lawyer. He was born at Fort de France and came to Paris when he was 19. He became an attorney at the parliament of Paris.- Bibliography :...
, "only one masonry building had not collapsed" in Port-au-PrincePort-au-PrincePort-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
, Haiti's capital city. - 1770 Port-au-Prince earthquake1770 Port-au-Prince earthquakeThe 1770 Port-au-Prince earthquake took place at 7:15 pm on June 3, 1770, on the Enriquillo fault near Port-au-Prince, Saint-Domingue, the French colony that is now the country of Haiti....
(3 June): The city was leveled in this magnitude 7.5Moment magnitude scaleThe moment magnitude scale is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released. The magnitude is based on the seismic moment of the earthquake, which is equal to the rigidity of the Earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of...
quake, which killed over 200 people. - 1783: A strong quake partially destroyed the church in Santiago .
- 7 May 1842: An earthquake destroyed the city of Cap-HaïtienCap-HaïtienCap-Haïtien is a city of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the Department of Nord...
and other towns in the north of Haiti and the Dominican Republic; this earthquake also destroyed the Sans-Souci PalaceSans-Souci PalaceThe Sans-Souci Palace was the royal residence of King Henri I of Haiti, Queen Marie-Louise and their two daughters. It was the most important of nine palaces built by the king, as well as fifteen châteaux, numerous forts, and sprawling summer homes on his twenty plantations. Construction of the...
. 10,000 people were killed. It has been estimated that its magnitude was 8.1 . - 1946 Dominican Republic earthquake1946 Dominican Republic earthquakeThe 1946 Dominican Republic earthquake refers to the earthquake of magnitude 8.0 that hit Samaná, Dominican Republic on August 4, 1946 at 17:51 UTC. An aftershock occurred four days later on August 8 at 13.28 UTC with a magnitude of 7.6....
(4 August): This 8.0-magnitude quake in Samaná also shook Haiti horrifically, producing a tsunamiTsunamiA tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
that killed 1,600 people. - 2010 Haiti earthquake2010 Haiti earthquakeThe 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
(12 January):. The epicentre of this magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake was near LéogâneLéoganeLéogâne is a seaside town in Ouest Department, Haïti. It is located in the eponymous arrondissement, the Léogâne Arrondissement. The port town is located about West of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. The town was at the epicenter of the 12 January 2010 earthquake, and was catastrophically...
, approximately 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) west of Port-au-Prince. at a depth of 13 kilometres (8.1 mi). The United States Geological SurveyUnited States Geological SurveyThe United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
recorded a series of at least 33 aftershockAftershockAn aftershock is a smaller earthquake that occurs after a previous large earthquake, in the same area of the main shock. 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...
s, 14 of which were between magnitudes 5.0 and 5.9. The International Red Cross estimated that about three million people were affected by the quake; the Haitian Government reports that over 316,000 people had been identified as dead, an estimated 300,000 injured, and an estimated 1,000,000 homeless. The death toll is expected to rise.
12 January 2010 Earthquake
Eric Calais, a geophysicist at Purdue UniversityPurdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
who has researched in the area for years, and Ross Stein
Ross Stein
Ross Stein is a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, California. He received an Sc.B. Magna cum Laude and with Honors from Brown University in 1975, a Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1980, and was Observatory Post-Doctoral Fellow at Columbia University during 1981. Dr...
of the United States Geological Survey
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
in Menlo Park, California, and colleagues have independently calculated that the earthquake has increased the risk on other segments of the Enriquillo fault and perhaps on other faults, although the quake probably did not increase the risk (which is already known to be high) of a major tremor on the Septentrional fault. Stein suggests that if the calculations are right—noting that they may well not be—something may be "fundamentally locked in some fashion, on pretty much all scales, and might be capable of popping off something large". 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 2010. There are concerns that the 12 January earthquake could be the beginning of a new long-term sequence of both earthquakes and tsunamis: "the whole region is fearful".