The Math of the Haiti Disaster

The Math of the Haitian Tragedy 

8 days later

7.0 magnitude earthquake strikes Haiti on 12^th Jan. 2010

            Epicenter 25 km WSW from the capital Port-au-Prince

200,000 people feared dead

1.5 million people left homeless  

3 million Haitians (1in 3) need emergency aid. Red Cross 

$10 billion projected cost to rebuild

70,000 bodies recovered & buried in mass graves Haitian officials

80-90% of buildings in capital destroyed including 6 hospitals 

72-hour period to save those trapped under the rubble

4 people (including a baby) survived after 7 days 

121 people rescued by international search teams   

Hundreds of amputations needed Doctors Without Borders

10,000 people have fled the disaster zone to unaffected towns Christian Aid 

31 C average day-time temperature

6 to 12 million gallons water needed daily

2,000 police in the capital severely affected Haitian officials

3,000 bandits escaped from prison Haitian officials

The Canadian connection

$40 million amount Canadians have donated (will be matched by government)    

357 Canadians missing Canadian Government

13 Canadians confirmed dead Canadian Government

2,000 Canadian troops being deployed 

200 Canadians with Disaster Assistance Response Team

100,000 to 140,000 people of Haitian descent live in Montreal

            Canadian Governor-General Michael Jean born in Haiti 

Before the quake:

Haiti poorest country in the western hemisphere

146th out of 182 countries on the UN Human Development Index

Less than $1 a day: amount more than half of Haiti's 9 million people live on

$1,180: annual amount the average Haitian lives on World Bank

Nearly 50% of Haiti's population is malnourished. UN World Food Program

50% had access to safe drinking water before quake. UN WFP

Nearly 60% of Haiti's children under 5 are anemic. UN WFP

50% of childhood population vaccinated against basic diseases like diphtheria

59 years: life expectancy for men UN

63 years: life expectancy for women UN  

No public sewage system

More Aid and Relief

$400 million: total pledge of aid by governments around world

20 plus: number of governments that have sent aid

13,000 American troops being deployed

12,500 UN peacekeepers

1 million: number of Haitians UN hopes to feed within 18 days of the quake  

Personal Math

Feb. 12: deadline to give to a recognized Canadian charity and have the Canadian government match (double) your donation.*  

_____ Amount you have given to aid post-quake relief in Haiti

_____ Amount your donation amounts to when matched (doubled) by CIDA*

_____ Amount you will give again to Haiti later in the year

*The Government of Canada will match dollar for dollar contributions of individual Canadians (not corporations or businesses) to eligible Canadian charitable organizations in support of humanitarian recovery and reconstruction efforts in Haiti up to a total of $50 million. www.cccc.org/news_release/85 or Canadian International Development Agency www.cida.gc.ca.

History Lesson

Haiti is the world's first black-led republic and first independent Caribbean state. It was once the world’s richest sugar colony, providing one-quarter of France’s wealth in the 18-century. About 700,000 African slaves made up 85% of Haiti’s population.  

After a series of successful slave revolts against the French, Haiti declared its independence in 1804. However, no country in the region that was slave-dependent would trade with Haiti. Slavery was abolished in the British West Indies in 1833 and in the French West Indies between 1848 and 1852. The Untied States did not recognize Haiti until 1862, when it abolished slavery too. France recognized it in 1825, but only after it agreed to pay compensation to the French for moneys lost as a result of the revolution. This staggering debt took 109 years to pay off and was often about 80% of the fledgling nation's income. Haiti had a mostly illiterate population and was easily manipulated by dictators. -- Marjorie Short