Natural Disasters in Haiti

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In 2010, Haiti was hit by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. The country was in no way prepared for such a devastating event. But this was not a new situation for Haiti. The country has had a long history with natural disasters. There are a number of reasons that Haiti has had and continues to have so many troubles with natural disasters. These troubles are based on a number of different things, including a rocky political and environmental history, government instability, the economy and overwhelming poverty, deforestation, and the misuse of foreign aid. The effects of natural disasters have impacted a number of different areas of Haitian culture, including the economy, public health, and the government. Natural disasters have and still do continue to have enormous effects on Haiti; the aspects that have lead to such difficulties with natural disasters and the effects of such natural disasters will be evident through the examination of Haiti’s history with natural disasters, and more specifically, the earthquake that hit Port-au-Prince in 2010.
On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti near the capital of Port-au-Prince. An estimated 230,000 to 316,000 (depends on the source) people died from the earthquake. Over 300,000 people were injured. This means that over half of the Haitian population suffered directly at the hands of the earthquake. About 1.5 million people were displaced as a result of the earthquake, as their homes and shacks were all destroyed. There are a number reasons that contribute to these incredibly high numbers of affected people, which will be explored below.
In order to understand why Haiti has such problems with natural disasters now, it is important to look at the history that has...

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... BBC News. N.p., 11 Jan. 2013. Web. 05 May 2014. .
Taft-Morales, Maureen, and Rhoda Margesson. United States. Cong. Bill. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2014. .
Than, Ker. "Haiti Earthquake, Deforestation Heighten Landslide Risk." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 14 Jan. 2010. Web. 05 May 2014. .
Velasquez-Manoff, Moises. "After the Earthquake: Haiti's Deforestation Needs Attention." The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Jan. 2010. Web. 05 May 2014. .

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