Running head: DISASTER OF PORT-AU-PRINCE 1 DISASTER OF PORT-AU-PRINCE 2 DISASTER OF PORT-AU-PRINCE Summary of the Event Port-Au-Prince is the capital city of Haiti located at coordinates 18°32′N 72°20′W. Haiti is an island nation in the Caribbean. The city is located by the sea on the Gulf of Gonave, a deep natural harbor. The city is ringed with hills. The island of Haiti overlies a fault line in the earth’s crust, the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault system (Marley, 2005). Haiti is a 3rd World Country and consequently, the city is a third world city. It has a population of 1,897,846 souls within its boundaries. For a country to be defined as a third world country, it must fulfill at least two of the following three conditions, first, its main source of income is mainly from agricultural or mining activities. Secondly, its education, health and infrastructure sectors must be poorly developed as indicated by high levels of mortality, low life expectancy and high illiteracy levels among the population. Thirdly the per capita income of the population should be less than $1000 per annum. Using this criterion, Port-au-Prince qualifies as a third world city. The main driver of the economy of Port-au-Prince is the export of coffee and sugar thus agriculture is the main driver of the economy of the City. Secondly, the city has only two operational hospitals, which operate at low efficiency. The city has a number of highways but they are poorly maintained and only see limited use. The infant mortality rate is 55 deaths per 1000 live births, a very high number compared to only 6 per 1000 births in other countries. The GDP per capita for the city is $851 per annum. Therefore, port au prince fulfils all three criteria and is therefore classified as a third world country (Tobin, 2013). The natural hazards that could affect Port-au-Price include Earthquakes, Tsunamis, hurricanes, Landslides, Floods and wild fires (Wade, 2010). On 12 January 2010 4:53 pm, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Port-au-Prince and it wrecked the city. Several buildings were lost including a number of government buildings such as the legislative palace which housed parliament, the palace of Justice which housed the Supreme Court, the presidential palace, several ministerial buildings, the city’s main hospital , the sea port, and the airport. The death toll was estimated to be about 160,000 people with official government records reporting as high as 220,000 deaths. The government estimated that 250,000 residences were destroyed, 30,000 commercial buildings were brought down, and an estimated 3,000,000 people were affected as a result of the quake (ABC News, 2010). Roles of Response Agencies As a result of the 2010 earthquake, Port-au-Prince is in a precarious position with respect to any Natural disaster. Already, the damage that an earthquake can do to the city has already materialized. The whole city, and indeed the country was brought ...