Haiti Recovery

On January 12, 2010, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti just 10 miles west of the capital, Port-au-Prince. The earthquake damaged nearly 190,000 homes, of which 105,000 were completely destroyed. Of the more than two million affected survivors, 1.3 million are still displaced today.

Habitat's response in Haiti

Habitat implemented immediate relief efforts while also seeking to address long-term shelter solutions. Based on current information and past experience with international disasters, Habitat developed a multi-phrase strategy of response, focused on six cities, Cabaret, Lèogâne, Jacmel, Carrefour, Port-au-Prince and Croix-des-Bouquets.

Phase one: relief

Providing emergency shelter kits to help families make immediate repairs and construct emergency shelter.
Re-establishing the Habitat Haiti office in Port-au-Prince which was destroyed in the earthquake to oversee operations.

Phase two: rehabilitation

Helping families remove or salvage debris from their home sites.
Organizing unaffected families to host affected families.
Constructing transitional shelters.

Phase three: reconstruction

Training local engineers in the internationally-recognized ATC-20 method of post-earthquake building safety evaluation. Based on a visual inspection, engineers recommend repairs where possible or complete demolition where it is not.

Read Habitat International's report - Haiti, One Year Later (click here)