PDC Updates | Jan 13, 2010
Haiti Shake Map
This ShakeMap overview shows how the heaviest effects of the earthquake (the reds) in Haiti were very much localized. However the damage was intense, and estimates of the death toll are staggering.

Haitian President Rene Preval told CNN reporter Sanjay Gupta that in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti, he had heard reports of death tolls ranging from 30,000 to 100,000, but he said the true toll is not yet known.

The earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake centered approximately 10 miles (16 km) from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, at 16:53:09 local time (21:53:09 UTC) on Tuesday, January 12. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 6.2 miles (10.0 km). The United States Geological Survey (USGS) recorded a series of aftershocks, twelve of them between magnitudes 5.0 and 5.9.

Most of Port-au-Prince’s major landmarks have been significantly damaged or destroyed in the earthquake. The United Nations reported that the headquarters of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) sustained serious damage and that a large number of UN personnel were unaccounted for.

World response to the disaster is mobilizing. Immediately after the earthquake Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in Hawaii as part of an Asia-Pacific trip, said that the U.S. will provide both military and civilian assistance. Other countries in the Caribbean, South America, Europe, Central America and Asia have also pledged or begun to deliver aid in various forms.

Here are some of PDC’s global information resources relevant to the Haiti earthquake:

  • Regional Report as Jan. 13, 7:29 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time
  • The Global Edition of PDC’s Natural Hazards and Vulnerabilities Atlas

To become informed and to keep current about the situation, start with these links:

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