Earthquakes in Haiti and Japan

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astonished the world, earning the title of "Japanese Economic Miracle". Japan is one the highest developed country in east Asia As we can already see there is a major difference between the two countries development with Japan's economy being a lot more sturdy Haiti The Earthquake An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 hit Haiti at 4:53pm 12th January 2010. Haiti's worst earthquake in two centuries hit the south of it's capital (Port-au-Prince). The Red Cross says up to three million people have been affected. The earthquake which struck about 15km was quickly followed by two after shocks with magnitude 5.9 and 5.5. The total damage was $7.8 billion to $8.5 billion. Japan A powerful earthquake struck in the north-east coast of Japan also triggering a tsunami. The earthquake with a 8.9 magnitude struck about 400km at 14:46 on the 11th of March 2011. The quake was the 5th largest in the world since 1900. Thousands of people that lived near the Fukushima nuclear power plant were ordered to evacuate. About four million homes in and about Tokyo suffered power cuts. The tsunami was up to 40.5 metres in height. Haiti Consequences • There were about 100,000 to 316,000 deaths 1.5 million people were left homeless after the earthquake • $7.8 billion- $8.5 billion worth of damage Japan 15,897 deaths, 6,157 injuries and 2,532 missing people • The tsunami resulted in over 500,000 homeless people • Nearly 25 million tons of debris was spread across cities Management of the earthquake Haiti Venezuela sent 50 humanitarian assistants The Red Cross dispatched a relief team The UN's world food program flew over two planes of emergency food aid The Inter-American Development Bank approved a $200,000 grant for emergency aid Japan Japan's ground self-defence forces came into action Japan's government has asked the US military based in the country for help the Japanese government mobilised the Self-Defence Forces the Japanese Red Cross reporting $1 billion in donations Why the earthquake in Haiti was more devastating There are many reasons as to why Haiti's natural disaster was more devastating despite the magnitude being lower. First of all Haiti isn't as developed and prepared as Japan. For example Japan had self defence forces at the ready in case a natural disaster was to happen. Secondly a lot of the buildings in Haiti weren't sturdy or designed to with stand natural disasters such as earthquakes. Also the earthquake was very close to a major city in Haiti How to prepare better for earthquakes in the future Ways to prepare better in case of future earthquakes could be things like tracking the seismic activity in and around Haiti so in case of future disasters everyone in the country is aware and would have time to evacuate. Another way to prepare would be to have building which are sturdy and could serve as a "hiding spot" for people who need a safe place to stay during the earthquake. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING