Disaster response- A case study of Haiti

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nDisaster response- A case study of Haiti

nCatastrophes, emergencies and disasters all signify sudden events that impact negative consequences in a society. Some events may be disasters; others emergencies while other events may be catastrophes depending on the magnitude. Catastrophes are of a high magnitude than disasters and emergencies (Wex, et, al, 2). Disasters are of less magnitude than catastrophes but are much greater than emergencies. Disasters are events that are atypical and they cause extensive damage, change, disruption and lots of casualties to already vulnerable communities. Emergencies such as house fires and road accidents are more common and when they occur they can be handled by local special agencies (Wex, et, al, 15). Disasters on the other hand cannot be easily predicted as they are sudden and in light of their occurrence response is by international organisations just like the earthquake that occurred in Haiti in 2010.

nHaiti has a population of approximately 9.5 million. 95% of citizens in Haiti are black while the rest 5% are white and mulatto. An estimated 38% of the population are age 14 and below 58% is age 15-64 years and 3% and over is age 65 and above. The Haiti people speak two official languages, French and Creole. Christianity is the main religion with 96% of the population practicing it while 3% practice different forms of spirituality and religion and the rest 1% do not believe in any religion. The larger population of Haiti is very poor. With the multiple massive earthquakes, tropical storms and hurricanes Haiti has been/is very vulnerable making the stages of recovery very difficult with each occurrence of a disaster Margesson, et, al, 6).

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nParticipatory approaches regarding disaster recovery and relief are very important (Wex, et, al, 27). Infrastructure damage in the Haiti seriously hampered relief and response. Haiti is a country of very poor economic status in the America region with a large number of the population living under a dollar a day (Margesson, et, al, 15).The earthquake that struck Haiti occurred on the Tuesday of 12th January 2010 at a local time of 16:53. The earthquake had a very large value on the Richter scale recording a magnitude of 7.0. It struck near Leogane town which is 25kms off the west of Haitis capital known as Port-au-Prince Margesson, et, al, 15).

nThe earthquake affected approximately 3 million people of which 230,000 died as a result of earthquake-related injuries, 200,000 suffered from severe injuries and another 1.1 million were displaced who are presently putting up in Port-au- prince in makeshift shelters. Furthermore, 597,801 of the population in Haiti looked for shelter in other places. The earthquake greatly affected institutional and human capabilities in the private and public sectors, including international and NGOs financial and technical partners. It struck the heart of Haitian administration and economy (Margesson, et, al, 16).

nThe 2010 earthquake caused extensive damage to the existing infrastructure in Haiti. Roads and telecommunication lines were totally destroyed. The areas that were most affected include Petit-Goave, Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and Leogane and many other small settlements. Jean Max Bellerive the Prime Minister of Haiti on February 2010 gave estimated numbers of 30,000 business buildings and 250,000 residential areas were extremely damaged and the structures completely collapsed (Margesson, et, al, 18).

nAdditionally, very many landmark buildings in Haiti were destroyed or damaged as a result of the earthquake. Some of the landmarks include the National assembly, the main jail, the presidential palace and port-au prince cathedral. According to the education ministry an estimated 1500 secondary schools and 15,000 primary schools were extremely destroyed, cracked or damaged. Moreover, three of the port-au prince were also extremely destroyed (Margesson, et, al, 70).

nFurthermore, other types of infrastructure were also affected including factories, telephone networks, museums and radio stations. The infrastructure before the earthquake took place wasnt as good either making the effects of the earthquake even to be worse. Before the earthquake, the roads were crisscrossing haphazardly and short trips would take around half a day. The disaster just made it even worse as the damage and devastation of infrastructure everywhere made it hard for rescue teams to respond. Rescue operations in the country were greatly affected because of the extensive damage to roads and communication systems. (Margesson, et, al, 70).

nFurthermore, organizational structures were lost in the process because groups found it hard to relay information from one person to another. Medical facilities were also damaged such as Medecins Sans Frontieres which comprises of three clinics in port-au-prince.Another facility that was completely destroyed was in the Petionville region as well as St. Michel District Hospital in jacmel town southern part of Hiati. St. Michel District hospital was Haitis leading referral hospital (Margesson, et, al, 71).

nIn addition, Haitis main airport Toussaint LOuverture International Airport was also not left behind in damages. The airports control tower was extremely damaged during the quake. The seaport known as port-au-prince was also obliterated in many ways. Containers collapsed, cranes collapsed, piers were damaged and waterfront quays also collapsed. All that damage was as a result of the 7.0 magnitude. Only one seaport remained operational which was the Gonaives seaport at the northern area (Margesson, et, al, 73).

nMoreover, the communications infrastructure also underwent extensive damage. The telephone service that was available for the public was inaccessible. Digicel, which is Haitis leading provider of cellular telephone service, was extensively damaged. By the 4th day after the earthquake on 14th January 2010, the network provider was overwhelmed beyond its capacity and many calls were not able to be connected. Another service provider known as Comcel was also forced to shut down its services because of the overwhelming capacity (Margesson, et, al, 80).

nFurthermore, the radio stations were severely affected by the earthquake. The regions where the earthquake struck the most had their radio stations go off air with only 20 stations out of the existing 50 going back on air after a week. Some of the radio stations that were greatly affected include Radio Ibo, Radio TV Ginen, Tropic FM and Radio Soleil. They were not able to go back on air even after the earthquake had subsided. Some radio stations however were not affected and carried out their normal routine services for example Radio Metropole, Melodie FM, Signal Fm and Radio Caraibes (Margesson, et, al, 81).

nMoreover, the radio station that belongs to the United Nations known as Radio Minustah had also been affected by the earthquake but was restored and came back on air on January 18th 2010just 8 days after the earthquake.The print media was alsoaffected by the earthquake. Gazettes and magazines published were not able to be distributed because of the dilapidated state of the roads. Their offices and printing equipment were also ruined by the earthquake. One such publishing company was the Agence France-Presse whose offices were utterly ruined by the earthquake but soon resumed normal operations after acquiring new premises (Margesson, et, al, 81).

nIn addition, other newspapers that were affected also included The Le Matin and Le Nouvelliste newspapers. Their offices were not utterly damaged but due to the destroyed roads they were unable to distribute their papers hence the need to close business. Other buildings that were severely damaged included the public works ministry, the finance ministry, culture and communication ministry, education ministry and the building of the supreme court. Some of the prison buildings also faced the severe wrath of the earthquake, for example the Prison Civile de port-au-prince was extensively damaged. 4000 inmates were able to escape to their freedom in the streets. Some of them stole vehicles, official uniforms and weapons during the disaster (Margesson, et, al, 83).

nLikewise, religious institutes like catholic churches were destroyed by the earthquake. A nursing school located at the capital of Haiti was damaged and that was a big blow because the school provided midwifery lessons as an aim to decrease the maternal mortality rate of Haiti. The clothing companies suffered structural damages and their products were destroyed too. Such companies included the Gildan Activewear company and Palm apparel factory in the capital of Haiti. Palm apparel factory lost 500 employees when a building collapsed. Art galleries and museums were destroyed including Centred Art and College Saint Pierre (Margesson, et, al, 86).

nThe lives of thousands of individuals were at risk and local resources were exhausted and crippled owing to the breakdown of infrastructure (Margesson, et, al, 47).The resources needed were to arrive within hours in extraordinary amounts irrespective of the infrastructural difficulties presented to ensure no spread of disease and food and water is distributed so there are no fatality cases. As a result of the obliterated infrastructure, rescuers who first tried to respond to the disaster found themselves victims of it. Many people died as a result of late response by the rescuers but the international community stepped in to stop further deaths and suffering. Catastrophic disasters where the infrastructure has been destroyed require a special national response (Patrick, 67).

nIn summary, disaster/emergency events have very many negative impacts. They cause fatalities and worse still damage infrastructure hampering any rescue and recovery operations. The earthquake that occurred in Haiti in 2010 almost caused a total collapse of the already fragile government system. Roads were extremely blocked, ports were rigorously damaged and the whole state was in utter ruins. Toussaint LOuverture International Airport was severely damaged hence flights to and from the country almost became impossible. With the bridges, roads, ports, buildings and railroads damaged and destroyed and more than 3 million people missing or dead the earthquake affected many zones in Haiti which has a very large population. The alleyways and narrow streets in Haiti were piled with debris and rubble that made the mission of rescue and search teams very difficult. Haiti has been a country that has been affected with frequent disasters such as the earthquake in January 2010 and the hurricane Mathew in October 2016. Rescue operations in the country were greatly affected because of the extensive damage to roads and communication systems.

nWorks cited

nMargesson, Rhoda, and Maureen Taft-Morales. “Haiti earthquake: Crisis and response.” Library of Congress Washington DC Congressional Research Service, 2010.

nPatrick, Jonathan. “Haiti Earthquake Response: Emerging Evaluation Lessons.” Evaluation Insights 1 (2011).

nWex, Felix, et al. “Emergency response in natural disaster management: Allocation and scheduling of rescue units.” European Journal of Operational Research 235.3 (2014): 697-708.