IAS Gyan

Daily News Analysis

Haiti

17th August, 2021 Geography

Context

  • Earthquakes have been wreaking havoc in Haiti since at least the 18th century, when the city of Port-au-Prince was destroyed twice in 19 years. Recent powerful quake killed hundreds and injured thousands more.

 

Details

  • Haiti sits near the intersection of two tectonic plates that make up the Earth’s crust - the North American plate and the Caribbean plate.
  • Earthquakes can occur when those plates move against each other and create friction.
  • Haiti is located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, to the east of Cuba and Jamaica and south of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island which it shares with the Dominican Republic.
  • To its south-west lies the small island of Navassa Island, which is claimed by Haiti but is disputed as a United States territory under federal administration.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-why-haiti-is-prone-to-devastating-earthquakes-7456356/