Behavior of Engineer Constructed Facilities in the Haitian Earthquake of January 12, 2010

The earthquake in Haiti was rated as Mw = 7.0 resulting in a reported 230,000 deaths and over one million in shelters while a comparable U.S earthquake Loma Prieta Mw = 7.1 caused 63 deaths and left about 1000 homeless. Many reports have attributed this disparity to the great economic, social and cultural differences between a third world and a leading country. Nevertheless there are lessons that can be drawn for the Haitian earthquake that are applicable to more advanced countries. The paper considers several examples of constructed facilities in the commercial, industrial and institutional sectors that were built with varying degrees of engineering technology, both domestic and imported, and were visited about three months after the event. While detailed engineering information was not available to the authors, physical examinations, published formal reconnaissance reports and comments by on-site personnel provide the basis for these observations. In addition to structural damage, the behavior of non-structural components, particularly mechanical and electrical equipment, was of particular interest.