Comparing earthquakes

By Andy Shin

Haiti (LEDC)People• Population: 9,035,536• Birth rate: 29.1/1000• Death rate: 8.65/1000• Infant mortality rate: 59.69/1000• Life expectancy rate: 60.78 years• Literacy: 52.9%Economy• GDP per capita: $1,300• Exports: $524 million• Imports: $2.023 billion• Debt: $428 million

Map of Haiti

Haiti earthquake 2010Date: 21:53:10, 12 January 2010Magnitude: 7.0MDepth 13 km Tsunami: YesCausalities: Death: 92,000 ~ 230,000 people Injuries: 300,000 people Homeless: 1,000,000 peopleBuildings: 250,000 homes destroyed or damaged badly 30,000 commercial buildings destroyed or damaged badly Many government and public buildings were destroyed Half of nation’s school and the three main universities were affected by the earthquake.Communication systems and air, land, and sea transport facilities, hospitals, and electrical networks were

damagedRoads were blocked because of the road debris, or the surfaces of the roads were broken

Haiti earthquake response

National:• Raymond Joseph, Haiti’s ambassador to the

United States, and his nephew, singer Wyclef Jean, pleaded for aid and donations.

International:1. Dominican Republic• Sent water, food, and heavy lifting machinery.• The hospitals were made available for Haiti people.• Airport opened to receive aid for Haiti• Dominican Emergency team assisted more than 2,000 injured people.• Dominican Institute of Telecommunications helped with the restoration of some telephone services. 2. Iceland• ICE-SAR went to help Haiti3. China• 50 members of Chinese team went to help Haiti4. Qatar• Sent a strategic transport aircraft, loaded with 50 tons of urgent relief materials and 26 members5. American Red Cross• Did mobile donations, raising US$7 million6. Twitter and Facebook• Spread messages and pleas to send help7. Unicef and SOS Children• Urged an immediate halt to adoptions from HaitiAnd others….

Japan (MEDC)People• Population: 127,078,679 people • Birth rate: 7.64/1000• Death rate: 9.54/1000• Infant mortality rate: 2.79/1000• Life expectancy rate: 82.12 years• Literacy: 99%Economy• GDP per capita: $32,600• Exports: $516.3 billion• Imports: $ 490.6 billion• Debt: $ 2.132 trillion

Map of Japan

Kobe earthquake 1995Date: 05:46 local time, 17 January 1995Magnitude: 7.2MDepth: 16km Tsunami: No Causalities: Death: 6,434 people Injuries: 26,000 people Homeless: 300,000 people Buildings: 200,000 buildings collapsed Many of the old buildings were wooden, so it caught fire really quickly Even though a lot of newer buildings in Kobe were built to manage earthquakes, some still collapsed Modern buildings with steel frames collapsed while it was designed to sway in an earthquake. Some buildings were damaged so badly that they had to be demolished.The Hanshin Expressway collapsed while it was built to withstand earthquake measuring up to 8.3M.Gas, electricity and water supplies were cut off, as were telecommunications link.Road and rail links were damaged.500 deaths and 7000 buildings were destroyed because of fire.

Kobe earthquake responseNational:• 1.2 million volunteers were involved in relief efforts during the first

three months.• Retailers used their existing supply networks to provide necessities

in affected areas.• NTT and Motorola provided free telephone service for victims.• Yamaguchi-gumi Yakuza was involved in distributing food and

supplies to needy victims.

International:• Japanese government initially refused help from foreign nations,

such as USA, South Korea, Mongolia, and the UK.

Comparing earthquakeThere is more damage and a slower response in LEDC countries

because…1. LEDC countries usually don’t have earthquake proof facilities.2. The government don’t have enough money and power to

support the victims.3. The government don’t have enough supplies to help the

victims.4. The government is not quick in responding to the earthquake.5. People that live in LEDC countries don’t know a lot about how

to act before, during, and after an earthquake.

The End