Big quake in Haiti

The sequence is begining. African volcanic eruption. Then 6.5 in No. Calif. Now Haiti. Philippines still pending, volcano being watched. Here in Hawaii, Mt. Kilauea has stopped emiting hot lava into the ocean from the O'o P'u vent, causing concern that there will be a lava buildup which will have to erupt somewhere or other. Interesting times.

Keep us posted on the Haiti quake, Soz.

Magnitude 7.0 - HAITI REGION
2010 January 12 21:53:09 UTC

Earthquake Details
Magnitude 7.0
Date-Time

* Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 21:53:09 UTC
* Tuesday, January 12, 2010 at 04:53:09 PM at epicenter
* Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location 18.451°N, 72.445°W
Depth 10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region HAITI REGION
Distances 15 km (10 miles) SW of PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti
140 km (90 miles) E of Les Cayes, Haiti
145 km (90 miles) WNW of Barahona, Dominican Republic
1140 km (710 miles) SE of Miami, Florida

Tectonic Summary

The Haiti earthquake of January 12, 2010, shock occurred in the boundary region separating the Caribbean plate and the North America plate. This plate boundary is dominated by left-lateral strike slip motion and compression, and accommodates about 20 mm/y slip, with the Caribbean plate moving eastward with respect to the North America plate.

Haiti occupies the western part of the island of Hispaniola, one of the Greater Antilles islands, situated between Puerto Rico and Cuba. At the longitude of the January 12 earthquake, motion between the Caribbean and North American plates is partitioned between two major east-west trending, strike-slip fault systems -- the Septentrional fault system in northern Haiti and the Enriquillo-Plaintain Garden fault system in southern Haiti.

The location and focal mechanism of the earthquake are consistent with the event having occurred as left-lateral strike slip faulting on the Enriquillo-Plaintain Garden fault system. This fault system accommodates about 7 mm/y, nearly half the overall motion between the Caribbean plate and North America plate.

The Enriquillo-Plaintain Garden fault system has not produced a major earthquake in recent decades. The EPGFZ is the likely source of historical large earthquakes in 1860, 1770, 1761, 1751, 1684, 1673, and 1618, though none of these has been confirmed in the field as associated with this fault.

I heard an ambassador to Haiti speak on TV. He said it is of catastrophic proportions.

Poor Haiti, it has been through so much..

Yes, my thought too...

It seems like things are inconclusive so far in terms of how bad the damage is, but I don't expect that details, when they arrive, will be good.

Earthquake wreaks havoc in Haiti
Canwest News Service: Tuesday, January 12, 2010 7:16 PM



This image obtained courtesy of the US Geological Survey (USGS) illustrates the intensity of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that rocked the impoverished Caribbean nation of Haiti on January 12, 2010 causing panic as it struck, officials and AFP witnesses said.
Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images

PORT-AU-PRINCE " Several buildings have collapsed, radio stations are down and telephone lines are dead in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince after a massive earthquake hit the Caribbean country on Tuesday.

The buildings include a hospital, a United Nations edifice and homes.

Preliminary details were still sketchy, but the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed a powerful quake struck, initially measured at 7.3 on the Richter scale, 16 kilometres from Port-au-Prince.

That was followed within minutes by two strong aftershocks measured at 5.9 and 5.5 on the scale, U.S. officials said.

A tsunami warning was in place for Haiti, Cuba, the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic, with the first waves predicted to hit Haiti shortly.

"Everything started shaking, people were screaming, houses started collapsing . . . it's total chaos," Reuters reporter said Joseph Guyler Delva said. He said he had seen dozens of people apparently dead or injured lying under rubble, which blocked roads. Panic-stricken residents were desperately trying to dig people out from under rubble or searching for missing relatives.

The UN building was damaged in the downtown area, said Elodie Cajuste, executive director of the Haitian Canadian Chamber of Commerce, who was speaking on her cellphone.

"People are still in shock," Cajuste said, as she drove to check on her mother. "Communications are not easy."

Many people were in the streets and walls have collapsed everywhere, she said.

The initial shaking lasted for three to four minutes, Cajuste said.

Already the poorest nation in the Americas, Haiti has been hit by a series of disasters recently and was battered by hurricanes in 2008.

The country was also gripped by a tense political standoff in April 2008 amid riots over skyrocketing food prices.

Seventy per cent of Haiti's population lives on less than two dollars per day and half of its 8.5 million people are unemployed.

Here are the "Did you feel it" maps from the USGS. 500+ people responding so far, mostly from Dominican Republic. Hati citizens may not be able to communicate for awhile to report on it.


http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/dyfi/events/us/2010rja6/us/index.html

Fears of huge death toll as earthquake rocks Haiti

And also sympathy to haitian relatives here in the US.

BFN, do you know where past earthquakes in Haiti have been? I'm thinking, no doubt very naively, if it is one area, is there a way to pinpoint where people shouldn't live - trust me, I know that's where the destitute go and I would too if I had no better options or were trapped.

The red zone seems particularly important for connections through the country.

Any Haiti experts here?

NPR's news blog is giving quarterly-hour updates on the quake situation.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/01/haiti_hit_with_7_magnitude_ear.html?sc=fb&cc=fp

They also have links to relief agencies gearing up to respond.


Latest update:

Update at 8:40 p.m. ET. Earlier this evening, Haiti's ambassador to the U.S., Raymond Joseph, spoke with All Things Considered's Robert Siegel. The ambassador the reports he's getting is that there's been a "major catastrophe". Some houses, he said, have "collapsed like cardboard".

"Please come to Haiti," the ambassador asked of the U.S. and other nations that can help:

Pictures are starting to come in. Warning, some of them are not for the squeamish.

http://picfog.com/search/Haiti

Here's a link to CIA - The World Factbook page on Haiti:

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ha.html

Well, I'll look around for earthquake history pinpoints.

Check this page. It is about the best I can find with any detail of quakes in that area. Look under Caribbean Sea and under Dominican Republic. There is no entry for Haiti.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/historical_country.php#caribbean_sea

No so far on that site, though the earthquake history is probably there somewhere.
I'll look at google.

Thanks, sorry for the snippyness. You are doing a good job.

ohhhhhhhh.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/world/americas/13haiti.html?hp

Warning - not for the squeamish.

This is immediately after the quake. You can see the rising cloud of dust that reports have talked about.