The numbers from the earthquake are shocking. Haitian President Rene Preval said 170,000 bodies had been counted as of January 27. About 20,000 buildings and over 200,000 houses collapsed or were seriously damaged in the earthquake, which left hundreds of thousands of people homeless. Almost everything has been wiped out. President Preval said it would take 5 to 10 years for the country to return to “normal,” but this may not be enough for the people.
The response from the international community was fast and huge. The United Nations, the World Bank, and de United States promised hundreds of millions of dollars of aid to Haiti. Cuba immediately sent another 30 doctors, who worked with the nearly 350 Cuban doctors already helping people in Haiti. More than 100 celebrities, including Madonna, Stevie Wonder, and Bruce Springsteen, appeared on TV and asked people for donations. Julia Roberts and Steven Spielberg even called people to ask for help. Air cargoes with relief supplies from foreign governments filled the airport.
In the weeks after the earthquake, people heard good and bad news. The good news was that people were being rescued from under the wreckage, even after a few weeks. The bad news was that these were the lucky ones. Others were trapped but could now be saved. On top of that, some people began stealing and rioting. They broke into shops and took clothing and food. Because the government was not functioning properly, the police could not control the situation.
Rin thought carefully about the disaster and understood why her parents were so worried. It was because they had experienced the same kind of disaster. For them, Haiti is far away as a country, but not so far in their hearts. Rin came to understand not only the Haitian people’s suffering, but her parents’ suffering as well. Rin’s parents taught her this lesson: “After destruction, you must rebuild.” Rin knows that it will take a long time for the Haitian people to rebuilt, but hopes that, with the help of the world, the will be able to have better lives in the future.
Showing posts with label disaster. Show all posts
Showing posts with label disaster. Show all posts
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
2010 Haiti Earthquake #01
Haiti’s Terrible Tragedy
Understanding the conditions in one of the poorest countries
When the Great Hanshin Earthquake happened in 1995, Rin and her family lived in the southern part of Osaka. Rin was only one year old at the time, so she doesn’t remember how bad it was. However, her parents have often told her what happened. No one in her family was killed, but her parents lost some close friends in the disaster. Therefore, it is quite natural for Rin’s parents to show their concern when they heard about the big earthquake in Haiti. Rin had never even heard of Haiti before this, so she decided to learn more about the country and the earthquake.
The Republic of Haiti is an island country in the Caribbean Sea. It shares the Hispaniola Island with the Dominican Republic. To the northwest is Cuba, and to the west Jamaica. Haiti has a complicated history. After Christopher Columbus discovered the Hispaniola Island in 1492, Spanish people migrated with slaves from Africa and made the island their colony. In the 17th century, French people also started to move in from the western part of the island, also with black slaves. By 1697 they controlled the western third of the island, which created today’s border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The slaves started a revolution in the late 1700s. Their revolution gained power, and on January 1, 1804, Haiti became independent from France. Its leader then drove the white people out of the country and started the first country governed by blacks.
Since it became independent, Haiti has not been a very wealthy country. The government has always been unstable and its economy has had all kinds of troubles. The country’s main industries, sugar and coffee beans, are very small. Two-thirds of the Haitian people are engaged in farming, which does not earn them much money. Most people live on just a dollar or two a day. Haiti is believed to be the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Therefore, a natural disaster would be devastating to Haiti for many reasons.
On January 12, 2010, a huge earthquake of magnitude 7.0 struck Haiti. More than 50 aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 or greater followed. Because there had been no major earthquakes in Haiti since 1946, the building and houses were not built to be earthquake-proof. Many buildings collapsed and trapped many people under their wreckage. The epicenter of the earthquake was near Port-au-Prince, the capital. The government buildings, including the president’s palace, were seriously damaged. Many important government functions stopped. In areas near the epicenter, 90 per cent of the schools were destroyed.
Understanding the conditions in one of the poorest countries
When the Great Hanshin Earthquake happened in 1995, Rin and her family lived in the southern part of Osaka. Rin was only one year old at the time, so she doesn’t remember how bad it was. However, her parents have often told her what happened. No one in her family was killed, but her parents lost some close friends in the disaster. Therefore, it is quite natural for Rin’s parents to show their concern when they heard about the big earthquake in Haiti. Rin had never even heard of Haiti before this, so she decided to learn more about the country and the earthquake.
The Republic of Haiti is an island country in the Caribbean Sea. It shares the Hispaniola Island with the Dominican Republic. To the northwest is Cuba, and to the west Jamaica. Haiti has a complicated history. After Christopher Columbus discovered the Hispaniola Island in 1492, Spanish people migrated with slaves from Africa and made the island their colony. In the 17th century, French people also started to move in from the western part of the island, also with black slaves. By 1697 they controlled the western third of the island, which created today’s border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The slaves started a revolution in the late 1700s. Their revolution gained power, and on January 1, 1804, Haiti became independent from France. Its leader then drove the white people out of the country and started the first country governed by blacks.
Since it became independent, Haiti has not been a very wealthy country. The government has always been unstable and its economy has had all kinds of troubles. The country’s main industries, sugar and coffee beans, are very small. Two-thirds of the Haitian people are engaged in farming, which does not earn them much money. Most people live on just a dollar or two a day. Haiti is believed to be the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Therefore, a natural disaster would be devastating to Haiti for many reasons.
On January 12, 2010, a huge earthquake of magnitude 7.0 struck Haiti. More than 50 aftershocks of magnitude 4.5 or greater followed. Because there had been no major earthquakes in Haiti since 1946, the building and houses were not built to be earthquake-proof. Many buildings collapsed and trapped many people under their wreckage. The epicenter of the earthquake was near Port-au-Prince, the capital. The government buildings, including the president’s palace, were seriously damaged. Many important government functions stopped. In areas near the epicenter, 90 per cent of the schools were destroyed.
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