The aftermath of the Haiti earthquake Synoptic links David Redfern

The aftermath of the Haiti earthquake Synopticity Synopticity involves the ability: to understand the connections between different aspects of the subject, and to ‘think like a geographer’ How can these skills be applied to the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake?

The aftermath of the Haiti earthquake Fotolia

The aftermath of the Haiti earthquake Key geographical background Social and economic development data Physical processes: Tectonic setting, plates and relative movement of the plates in the vicinity of Haiti (see next slide) Human issues: What type of country is Haiti in terms of level of economic development, demographics and settlement? Indicator (2010)Haiti Population9.8 million Annual population growth rate1.8 Urban population48% Population aged over 654% Population aged under 1537% Life expectancy62 years % of women using contraception 32 Per capita GNP$949 Human development index0.404 Mean years of schooling4.9 Sources: Population Reference Bureau and UN Human Development Report

The aftermath of the Haiti earthquake Haiti and its relation to tectonic plates

The aftermath of the Haiti earthquake Other physical influences: environmental Haiti is a classic case of a multi-hazard environment. Even before the quake the country had a severe problem of deforestation on the hills around Port-au-Prince. In the 1950s 60% of the island was forested. Today forest cover is less than 2%, due to logging and cutting of trees for fuel. Given that much of the land slopes steeply, this has led to severe soil erosion. In the first week of November 2010 Hurricane Tomas headed for Haiti. The storm veered westwards so its full force did not hit Port-au-Prince. It killed eight people but could have been far worse in a nation where more than 1 million quake survivors were living under tarpaulins and tents. The rain was not as heavy as had been feared and most major rivers did not flood.

The aftermath of the Haiti earthquake Other human influences (1) Population The rapidly growing population has pushed more and more people to live in unsuitable areas – such as on floodplains and steep, unstable hillsides. People who had been forced to build informal settlements in areas like this had even worse infrastructure than those in the towns. Water and sewerage systems were particularly poor in such areas. Health In mid-October 2010, cholera was first reported. The squalid conditions and the damaged infrastructure in the refugee camps had caused increases in many diseases, particularly intestinal infections.

The aftermath of the Haiti earthquake Fotolia

The aftermath of the Haiti earthquake Other human influences (2) Cultural The cholera outbreak led to anti-UN riots in November. Some Haitians turned their anger on peacekeepers from Nepal accused of bringing the disease into the Caribbean country. Political There has been much criticism of the slow pace of rebuilding and there have been many claims and counter-claims about the relief efforts. However, any rebuilding work will be wasted unless the aid agencies and the Haiti government work together to establish priorities, rebuild infrastructure and involve the local people with their local knowledge.

The aftermath of the Haiti earthquake Other human influences (3) Historical For over 30 years Haiti was ruled by the brutal and corrupt dictatorship of the Duvalier family. The dictatorship ended in 1986, but Haiti has remained politically unstable and corrupt. It is plagued by violent confrontations between rival gang and political groups, and drug trafficking has corrupted the judicial system and the police. This instability has resulted in Haiti being one of the poorest nations in the world.

The aftermath of the Haiti earthquake Other human influences (4) Development aid One year after the earthquake struck the DEC (UK Disasters Emergency Committee) had raised £101m through its emergency appeal and had nearly £380m to spend in total from all sources. 52% of the money collected directly by the DEC has already been spent, and this had funded aid for more than 1.2 million people in Haiti. Decision-making After this disaster the NGOs and charities concentrated on rebuilding people’s lives but British government aid concentrated on rebuilding the Haitian government.

The aftermath of the Haiti earthquake See for yourself… Visit the Disasters Emergency Committee webpage Watch a video on YouTube You could use this to develop a case study of the rebuilding work in Carrefour Feuilles, a district of Port-au-Prince.

The aftermath of the Haiti earthquake How to be synoptic? Think: SPEED S – social P – political/physical E – economic E – environmental D – demographic/ development or SHEEP S – social H – historical E – economic E – environmental P – political/physical Honda Fotolia