Haiti was hit on Tuesday by a massive earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale, causing the collapse of buildings, including a hospital, and causing widespread panic.
It was the largest earthquake to hit the impoverished country, since 1984. The vibrations lasted for more than a minute and were felt in Cuba.
Already the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has been hit by a series of disasters recently and was battered by hurricanes in 2008.
Seventy per cent of Haiti's population lives on less than two dollars per day and half of its 8.5 million people are unemployed.
It was the largest earthquake to hit the impoverished country, since 1984. The vibrations lasted for more than a minute and were felt in Cuba.
Already the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has been hit by a series of disasters recently and was battered by hurricanes in 2008.
Seventy per cent of Haiti's population lives on less than two dollars per day and half of its 8.5 million people are unemployed.
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WHAT IS AN EARTHQUAKE?
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are recorded with a seismometer, also known as a seismograph. The magnitude of an earthquake ( Richter magnitude) is conventionally reported, with magnitude 3 or lower earthquakes being mostly imperceptible and magnitude 7 causing serious damage over large areas.
At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and sometimes displacing the ground. When a large earthquake epicenter is located offshore, the seabed sometimes suffers sufficient displacement to cause a tsunami. The shaking in earthquakes can also trigger landslides and occasionally volcanic activity.
In its most generic sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic event — whether a natural phenomenon or an event caused by humans — that generates seismic waves. Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of geological faults, but also by volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear experiments. An earthquake's point of initial rupture is called its focus or hypocenter. The term epicenter refers to the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter.
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