International Aid A baby girl is rushed to hospital by helicopter. She was one of the lucky ones. Food, water, shelter and medical care were all desperately needed in the days and weeks following the earthquake. Men carrying food aid Food rations

International aid Over the first weekend immediately after the earthquake 130,000 food packets and 70,000 water containers were distributed to Haitians. There were nearly 2,000 rescuers present from 43 different groups, with 161 search dogs. The airport had handled 250 tons of relief supplies by the end of the first weekend following the earthquake. The international airport has docking ramps for over a dozen aircraft but in the days following the earthquake there were sometimes more than 40 aircraft at the airport, causing serious delays.

International Aid Troops carry water supplies Soldiers deliver food aid sent by the international community A U.S. soldier waits for order before distributing food aid. Boys wear food ration bags as makeshift boots.

Why did Haiti find it difficult to cope with the earthquake? Poverty - 72.1% of the population live on less than $2 a day. Poorly constructed buildings - most people lived in densely-packed shanty towns and badly-constructed buildings. Haiti has no building codes. Over 3 million people live in Port-au-Prince, the majority in slum housing. Access – The airport was only half functioning and roads were blocked for days meaning outside help was slow to arrive. Inexperienced new govt- Haiti has had a long history of unstable govts. A record of previous disasters – In 2008 a thousand people were killed and up to a million were made homeless after four hurricanes struck in a month. Rural-urban migration – The hurricanes increased the number of people moving to Port-au-Prince after crops were ruined.

The G7 Finance Ministers What next for Haiti? The G7 finance ministers (representing Canada, the USA, UK, France, Germany, Italy and Japan) have cancelled Haiti’s bilateral debts. $1.2bn (£800m) of Haiti's debts to other countries and international lending bodies has already been cancelled. By 12th February, a month after the earthquake, an emergency appeal launched by the international aid community had reached more than 95% of its $577m target. The G7 Finance Ministers

But it isn’t all good news… The rainy season and the hurricane season will bring new challenges. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-37582009 Sanitation in temporary camps is a major concern. The UN says malaria and dengue are widespread in Haiti during the rainy season and the current conditions in the camps will increase the risk of outbreaks. The World Health Organization says 18,000 pit latrines are needed for 900,000 people, one per 50 people. But at the moment there is only about one per 1,000 people.

Long term issues Even before the earthquake, over 2.4 million people were considered "food-insecure”. In the first month following the earthquake, 2 million people received food aid. A 25kg sack of rice will feed a family for two weeks giving roughly three portions of rice per person per day. The economic cost of the earthquake may be $14 billion but the full cost will not become apparent for several years.

Conclusion Haiti is a vulnerable country with a long history of unstable government and has had a number of severe disasters to contend with during the last 10 yrs. Aid given in response to the earthquake has led to some positive results but there is a general feeling that the international community has not done enough to support good governance and effective leadership in Haiti. Aid agencies have not been seen to successfully coordinate their actions. They need to work more closely with the Haitian people ( who often know what they need after a disaster)and key government ministers when making decisions. It is hoped that with better co-ordination and different priorities, Haiti will be better able to face any future natural disasters.

CASE STUDY SICHUAN CHINA EARTHQUAKE 2008

CASE STUDY SICHUAN CHINA EARTHQUAKE 2008 When? May 12th 2008 Where? Sichuan- mountainous region of SW China Magnitude? 7.8 How caused? The quake was caused by the collision of the Indian-Australian and Eurasian plates along the 155-mile- (249-km-) long Longmenshan Fault, a thrust fault in which the stresses produced by the northward-moving Indian-Australian plate shifted a portion of the Plateau of Tibet eastward.

Primary effects: Ground shaking and building collapse- 69,000 people died…

Secondary effects: Deadly landslides….

BBC clips http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22398684 (interactive map) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1oCcfMbRvk ( moment when deadly landslide hit)

Landslides: Sichuan earthquake China 2008 Landslides killed 700 in Qingchuan A train was buried by a landslide near Logan, Gansu province 34 barrier lakes formed due to earthquake debris damming rivers. ~ 28 of them were a potential danger to the local people A barrier lake forming in Beichuan County Satellite images taken by the Taiwan's National Space Organisation (NSPO) show one such lake forming in Beichuan County, one of the areas worst hit by the quake. The top image was taken in 2006, showing the river in its normal state. The second and third images were taken after the quake. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7417335.stm

250,000 were evacuated to higher ground Rising water levels on the largest barrier lake (Tangjiashan lake on the Jian river), which threatened to breach a temporary earth dam. Key task for the troops 250,000 were evacuated to higher ground An artificial channel was completed on 7 June, which drained the lake A sluice channel that has been cut to release water from the Tangjiashan quake lake in Sichuan Province Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1025113/Soldiers-forced-use-anti-tank-weapons-blast-rock-quake-lake-threatens-1million-people.html#ixzz1HyYYV7s9

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