Dozens have died after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake. The US Geological Survey is estimating ‘high casualties.’
The epicenter of today’s 7.2 magnitude earthquake near Haiti is approximately 60 miles west of the fatal 2010 Haiti earthquake, according to CNN supervising meteorologist Brandon Miller.
The devastating 2010 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti struck on Jan. 12, 2010. The death toll from that quake is estimated at 220,000-300,000 people, with an additional 300,000 injured. One and a half million people were initially displaced, and more than 32,000 remain displaced as of January 2020.
Today’s quake was farther away from the capital of Port-au-Prince and the most populated areas in Haiti.
Initial CNN weather calculations show about 2.5 million people living within 50 miles or so from the epicenter. For comparison, the 2010 quake had roughly 6.5 million people living within 50 miles.
Construction of many buildings in Haiti “just does not hold up to these kind of earthquakes,” said CNN’s Patrick Oppmann, reporting from Cuba.
“Haiti is just not a country that is set up to respond to this kind of event. They needed a lot of help after the 2010 quake. You suspect that they will need help again. In the middle of a pandemic, that is going to be even more complicated,” Oppmann said.
