When Haitians started their day on 12 January ten years ago, they could not have imagined the devastation that was about to befall their country. Later that day, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck, claiming the lives of more than 220,000 people. The quake, one of the deadliest natural disasters on record, destroyed much of the country’s fragile infrastructure and left many Haitians in dire need of assistance. Some 1.5 million people were displaced, according to the International Organization for Migration. Donors from around the world gave billions of dollars to aid agencies who made promises to rebuild. But a decade later, Haitians who survived say they feel forgotten, as much of the goodwill and billions have been lost to waste, greed and corruption. The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicenter near the town of Leogane and approximately 25 kilometers west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.
Scott Mc Kiernan, Founder & CEO, ZUMA Press
