Haiti 7.0 Earthquake, very near Port-au-Prince

[Cephalopod]

CNN reporting "Hundreds of thousands dead in Haiti quake, PM says" (http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/13/haiti.earthquake/index.html)



Magnitude 7.0 quake struck near Port-au-Prince shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday
Haiti's first lady tells consul most of capital, Port-au-Prince, is destroyed
Catholic archbishop among those killed, Vatican says
Quake knocked down penitentiary and inmates escaped, U.N. official says

[Kuyuk]

over 100,000 dead is a lot, population estimate between 2.5-3m... I guess 3% isnt unreasonable to believe...

It'd be nice if the cruiselines emptied ships and took them on board for a while... though highly unlikely :(

[Cephalopod]

Don't know if that number will turn out to be true, but it's pretty staggering. High population density in Port-au-Prince with horrible construction and severe poverty makes this a nightmare.

[Archigeek]

Yeah when 60% of your buildings aren't safe in normal conditions, a 7.0 earthquake is not good, not to mention when thuggery is a national passtime in your country.

[Fallen]

That is an insane loss of life. How many died in hurricane Katrina?

[Kuyuk]

Fatalities 1,836 confirmed, 705 missing[1][2]


very low compared, but I think the major thing about katrina is the damage it did... 81 billion in 2005, so ~ 90 billion today

[Fallen]

Fatalities 1,836 confirmed, 705 missing[1][2]


very low compared, but I think the major thing about katrina is the damage it did... 81 billion in 2005, so ~ 90 billion today

The last event which caused so much death at once that stands out in my mind is the 2 bombs dropped on Japan, though I have to imagine a natural disaster similar to this has occurred since then.

[Celephais]

What about the indonesian tsunami?

Wiki says estimated ~230,210.

[Kuyuk]

yeah, was going to say the pacific tsunami rocked the scales a bit


The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami killed over 300,000[citation needed] people with many bodies either being lost to the sea or unidentified. Some unofficial estimates have claimed that approximately 1 million people may have died directly or indirectly solely as a result of the tsunami.[citation needed]


the two bombs killed like 300,000 directly + whatever over the years

[Parkbandit]

I just got one of those flash headlines that said a haitian senator said the death toll could easily be 500K

[Kuyuk]

I'm not so much worried about what people are saying, but what it actually, and sadly, will be :(

What people say when bad stuff happens is usually an overestimate of what it is.

Could it be 500k? Yeah, but that's 1/6th of the population, which seems a bit high to me...

Plus, I'm hopeful it's much less.

[Makkah]

Prime Minister believes "several hundred thousand"

Definitely one to remember.

[Cephalopod]

An interesting frame of reference is the 1989 Oakland/SF earthquake, which most of us probably remember at least a little. It was a 6.9/7.0, and in an area that largely has been preparing for earthquakes for decades.



1989 Loma Prieta earthquake (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Loma_Prieta_earthquake)
The quake killed 63 people throughout northern California, injured 3,757 and left some 3,000-12,000 people homeless.
...
The epicenter of the quake was in Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz County, an unpopulated area in the Santa Cruz Mountains (geographical coordinates 37.040°N 121.877°W), approximately 2–3 miles (3–5 km) north of unincorporated Aptos and approximately 10 mi (16 km) northeast of Santa Cruz. The quake was named for the nearby Loma Prieta Peak which lies 5 mi (8 km) to the northeast in Santa Clara County.


Compare that to the earthquake in Haiti, also a 7.0, with an epicenter 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. This is smack in the middle of a densely populated outskirt of Port-au-Prince, with the aforementioned horrible construction.

[Cephalopod]

Also, just putting this here:
American Red Cross: International Response Fund (https://american.redcross.org/site/Donation2?4306.donation=form1&idb=223141931&df_id=4306)


And the Red Cross 'news' area (http://newsroom.redcross.org/2010/01/12/disaster-alert-earthquake-in-haiti/), which has some extra info as well as a way you can text a donation very easily.

[4a6c1]

Donate. Helps families and children affected by the destruction.

https://secure.unicefusa.org/site/Donation2?df_id=6680&6680.donation=form1

[Atlanteax]

Too bad there's no Oil or any resources of value there.

New Orleans' significance is due to its proximity to the Mississippi river, an immensely important transit route for the American heartland.

[Krendeli]

Marijuana?

[Kuyuk]

California grows that now

[Archigeek]

My heart goes out to the Haitian people. This is really aweful.

[thefarmer]

..thuggery is a national passtime in your country.

What happened is horrible, but this phrase made me lulz.