7.0 Earthquake Strikes Haiti Followed By Many Aftershocks

7.0 Earthquake Strikes Haiti Followed By Many Aftershocks

Port Au Prince, Haiti – A strong earthquake hit the impoverished country of Haiti on Tuesday afternoon. As a result of the earthquake, a hospital has collapsed and people were screaming for help. Many other buildings were also damaged in the quake.

Haiti is the home to over 9 million people, and very impoverished. Nearly 60% of Haitians are living in abject poverty.  It is one of the most densely populated, and it is the poorest country in the western hemisphere.   That is worth 758.1 people per square mile.

This is the largest earthquake on record in the area with the previous one measuring at 6.7.

The earthquake and after shocks thus far are:

Haiti Region (map 1) was an earthquake with a 5.5 magnitude approximately 59 minutes ago.

Haiti Region (map 2) displays where the earthquake with a 5.9 magnitude that occurred nearly an hour ago.

Haiti Region (map 3) displays where the earthquake with a 7.0 magnitude that occurred over an hour ago.

The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 and was centered about 14 miles (22 kilometers) west from the capital of Port-au-Prince, according to the U.S. GeologicalSurvey

The USGS also reported a 5.9 magnitude aftershock soon after.

An Associated Press videographer saw the wrecked hospital in nearby Petionville, and a U.S. government official reported seeing houses that had tumbled into a ravine.

No further details on any causualties or other damage were immediately available.

“Everybody is just totally, totally freaked out and shaken,” said Henry Bahn, a visiting official with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “The sky is just gray with dust.”

Bahn said he was 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.”

Bahn said there were rocks strewn all over the place and he saw a ravine where several homes had been built. “It’s just full of collapsed walls and rubble and barbed wire,” he said.

7.0 Haiti Earthquake Details

As the earthquake hit Haiti, as many other breaking news stories have precedented, over 22,219 Tweets have already been sent mentioning Haiti.  Find the RSS feed for Twitter here.  For all of those affected by this great devastation in Haiti, and around the world, our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Please retweet this to begin the recovery process for Haiti: RT @evansmediagroup @wyclef Text YELE right now to 501 501 to donate 5 dollars toward relief in Haiti.

Sources: cnn.com, The Associated Press, KCTV 5, USGS http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010rja6.php#details

Written by: Sara Paxton, managing partner, CTO, and Social Media Officer of Evans Media Group, Kansas City’s Social Media Agency, a boutique agency located in Overland Park, KS that specializes in traditional marketing, social media marketing, online marketing, and public relations.

2 Comments

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