Haiti rocked by powerful 7.3 earthquake
A powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Haiti, rocking the capital and sparking a tsunami alert for neighbouring states.
The tremor hit at 1653 (2153 GMT), about 15km (10m) south-west of Port-au-Prince, the US Geological Survey said.
Haiti's envoy to the US said it was a \\"catastrophe of major proportions\\" as reports from the capital spoke of casualties and damage.
A hospital and other buildings are reported to have collapsed.
A visiting US official told AP the sky in the city was \\"just grey with dust\\" and he could hear distant screaming.
The low-lying impoverished state has been plagued by natural disasters.
I just hear a tremendous amount of noise and shouting and screaming in the distance
Henry Bahn
US Department of Agriculture official, visiting Haiti
The quake was quickly followed by two strong aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude.
The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was the possibility of a local tsunami that could affect \\"coasts located usually no more than a 100km [60 miles] from the earthquake epicentre\\".
A tsunami watch was in effect for Haiti, the neighbouring Dominican Republic, Cuba and the Bahamas.
'Rubble and wire'
Raymond Joseph, Haiti's ambassador to the US, told CNN: \\"I think it is really a catastrophe of major proportions.\\"
He said he had just spoken to a government colleague in Port-au-Prince.
An AP cameraman saw the wrecked hospital in Petionville, a hilly suburb of the capital, and Henry Bahn, a visiting official from the US Department of Agriculture, said he had seen houses which had tumbled into a ravine.
\\"Everybody is just totally, totally freaked out and shaken,\\" said Mr Bahn.
He had, he continued, been walking to his hotel room when the ground began to shake.
\\"I just held on and bounced across the wall,\\" he said.
\\"I just hear a tremendous amount of noise and shouting and screaming in the distance.\\"
Rocks, he added, were strewn all over the place, and the ravine where several homes had fallen in was \\"just full of collapsed walls and rubble and barbed wire\\".
Haiti has this uncanny ability to never catch a break.
I'm sorry, but that made me laugh.My sister-in-law lived in Haiti for a while, right by Port au Prince.
That might not be too far off of the norm, though. Infrastructure in Haiti is downright laughable. In Port Au Prince, the power sometimes goes down for days at a time for no reason at all. Landlines are unreliable, and an earthquake is going to affect the cell towers that are around anyhow. On top of that everyone using the phones all at once to check on family and friends is going to gum up the works.My sister-in-law lived in Haiti for a while, right by Port au Prince. I just spoke to her and she is unable to reach anyone she knows.
That is exactly what I came here to write.Haiti has this uncanny ability to never catch a break.
It's actually retarded. I never realized how significant Hait has been in world history until I started actively researching it. They pulled off the first and only successful slave revolt in modern history, became the world's first black republic, and were the second nation in the new world to declare independance, right after the USA. They fought out the French, Spanish, and to a lesser extent the English, and depending on how you look at current events, are currently struggling against the influence of America. After they gained their freedom, Haitian militants spread throughout the caribbean and Latin America, eventually helping liberate half a dozen other nations, including Venezuela and what would eventually become Columbia. When France's territory in Africa began to self-govern, Haitian nationals extended a helping hand, even though their own country was probably in even worse shape than the countries they were helping.*deep sigh* Sorry, just couldn't help it. As part of my thesis, I've been reading about Toussaint L'Ouverture and how Saint-Domingue (that was to become Haiti) used to be one of the richest places in the Americas thanks to sugar. It's sad...
Fade, where did you read this?Really?!? There are already conspiracy theories about some US Navy missile test shortly before the quake. Oh yeah. We've got quake missiles, baby.
Seriously, the energy output of a 7.0 quake is phenomenal. The largest thermonuke ever detonated achieved roughly 7.0, but its signature would be recognized almost immediately by any geoscientist with a seismograph.
Also, not sure why the title says 7.3. The USGS estimates 7.0, as does the BBC article linked in the OP. There's a huge difference, because earthquake magnitudes are logarithmic. 7.0 = 50 megatons, 7.5 = 178 megatons, etc.
National Penitentiary in Haiti collapsed and inmates escaped, prompting worries about looting by escapees. http://bit.ly/82whW7
Hundreds of thousands of people have died in Haiti's earthquake, the prime minister told CNN today.
Seems about right doesn't it? Wiki says: "Like the Richter scale, the MMS is logarithmic; on the scale, an earthquake one number higher is approximately thirty-one times (the square root of 1,000) more powerful (for example, 7.0 is about thirty-one times the power of 6.0)."Fade, where did you read this?
Seems about right doesn't it? Wiki says: "Like the Richter scale, the MMS is logarithmic; on the scale, an earthquake one number higher is approximately thirty-one times (the square root of 1,000) more powerful (for example, 7.0 is about thirty-one times the power of 6.0)."Fade, where did you read this?
Seems about right doesn't it? Wiki says: "Like the Richter scale, the MMS is logarithmic; on the scale, an earthquake one number higher is approximately thirty-one times (the square root of 1,000) more powerful (for example, 7.0 is about thirty-one times the power of 6.0)."Fade, where did you read this?
Seems about right doesn't it? Wiki says: "Like the Richter scale, the MMS is logarithmic; on the scale, an earthquake one number higher is approximately thirty-one times (the square root of 1,000) more powerful (for example, 7.0 is about thirty-one times the power of 6.0)."Fade, where did you read this?
Seems about right doesn't it? Wiki says: "Like the Richter scale, the MMS is logarithmic; on the scale, an earthquake one number higher is approximately thirty-one times (the square root of 1,000) more powerful (for example, 7.0 is about thirty-one times the power of 6.0)."Fade, where did you read this?
I knew you'd make the lake point, and you're right. I read up on the quake. Mexico City city reported "major damage" from the quake. According to your link, 412 collapsed buildings. One really important thing to note, too, is that the quake focus was 350 km away from Mexico city, whereas the quake that hit yesterday was only 15 km from Port-Au-Prince. Not disputing your point though--building codes should be updated. The complaint will be the expense associated with it.Yeah, which is the case of Mexico City (it was mostly built on top of a lake, which means it's on top of sediment) and we still have the Torre Mayor which is still the tallest building in Latin America and has enough quake damping that it not only survived a 7.6 quake unscathed, people that were on it didn't even FEEL the quake (this was mentioned in the wiki article I linked in my previous post, even). And this is in a third world country, mind you, I'm not comparing Haiti to England here.
Oh shit, Sin. Positive thoughts to you and them.My friends wife is in Porta Prince visiting relatives...no one has been able to get a hold of her.
Not good, right?
Don't get too worried, the communication infrastructure is so beaten and clogged that it's impossible to get a hold of most people over there, so it's probable that she's okay and just incommunicado for now. She should check in before long, keep your friend sane meanwhile, I can't imagine how awful it must be not to be able to get a hold of her yet.My friends wife is in Porta Prince visiting relatives...no one has been able to get a hold of her.
Not good, right?
Gods, I hope that doesnae end up like the tsunami mess. You know, government corruption paring off most of the good stuff. I know it's not the most prosperous country, but just how dirty is Haiti?I dearly hope there's a special layer of Hell for Pat Robertson to burn in when he dies.
I'll be donating my bonus check to the people of Hati today, and will raise hell if our government doesn't lend a tangible helping hand >_<
When I went into a neighborhood while I was down there, there was literally shit in the streets. In Port Au Prince, we drove over a bridge that spanned a small section of river, almost like a narrow canal. The garbage was so deep, there was no sign of water.I know it's not the most prosperous country, but just how dirty is Haiti?
Oh, yeah. Definitely don't give money to the government. I know that that's what most governments would do/probably has done. But on the whole, I think that's probably the wrong way to go.I meant metaphorically, as in government corruption. Was wondering what percentage of the donations are likely to mysteriously vanish.
Not an excuse to fail to help out, just summat to consider.
Do not watch, read. The book is a significant work on Haitian Voodoo. The movie is a cheap horror/thriller flick loosely inspired by the book, which makes orphans cry.For a decent eye opener on Haiti Watch/Read The Serpent and the Rainbow.
Indeed, just heard on the news that our gov't is making it easier to sponsor family members.I have read that in light of the recent earthquake, the USA is making it easier for Haitians to immigrate. I would imagine that Canada is doing something similar.
Hopefully it will be a boon in your friend's case.