INTL 190 - Haiti in a Transnational Context

The Environmental Impact

Apart from political corruption and political instability, Haiti faces more natural disasters than any other Caribbean country. The country sits on a fault line directly across the Gulf of Mexico, where most hurricanes pass, and Haiti continues to suffer from earthquakes, extreme floods, and hurricanes. While these are hard to face alone, Haiti has taken a long time to recover after such a disaster due to a lack of urban planning or a quick response to infrastructure damage. As a result, Haiti is an extremely poor country. One of the hardest hits to Haiti was the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that happened in 2010. About 250,000 people were killed and 300,000 injured. Countless buildings were destroyed. About 1.5 million people were forced to live in temporary camps for internally displaced persons. As a result, the country faces the largest humanitarian need in its history. In 2021, Haiti once again experienced a magnitude 7.2 earthquake, that killed at least 2,200 people, 12,200 people were injured and hundreds were missing, caused extensive damage. Haiti has experienced not only earthquakes, but other large natural disasters such as hurricanes and tsunamis, making it difficult for Haitian families to overcome deep-rooted poverty.

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