Today In History: 12 January 2010 Devastating Earthquake with Magnitude 7.0 Strikes Haiti

A catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. … Death toll estimates range from 100,000 to about 160,000 to Haitian government figures from 220,000 to 316,000, although these latter figures are a matter of some dispute.
Approximately 25 km (16 mi) WSW from Port-au-Prince at a depth of 13 km (8.1 mi) on blind thrust faults associated with the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault system and lasted less than 30 seconds.
The 2010 earthquake was the most devastating natural disaster ever experienced in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
More than 220,000 people were killed and over 300,000 injured. The massive earthquake, the biggest the region had seen in 200 years, left more than 1.5 million people homeless and resulted in an immense humanitarian crisis.


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