Haiti Earthquake: A decade after the 2010 earthquake, Haiti has seen another devastating earthquake. The death toll from this earthquake was increased from 250 to 2189 on Wednesday, the civil protection agency of the Caribbean nation said.
Here are the causes why the Caribbean country is affected by earthquakes.
Causes
Haiti is in the western part of Hispaniola which is sandwiched between the Septentrional fault system to the north, and the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault system to the south.
As per the US Geological Survey (USGS), the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault system is likely responsible for Saturday’s earthquake and 2010 earthquake as well.
An earthquake happens when two tectonic plates suddenly slip past each other. Even though friction holds these two tectonic plates together, the sudden energy release in seismic waves causes the shaking associated with earthquakes.
Which quake is bigger 2010’s or 2024’s?
As per the USGS, Saturday’s earthquake was measured as 7.2 on the Richter scale. The 2010 quake measured as 7.0. As the Richter scale is logarithmic the earthquake that happened on Saturday has released twice compared to the previous one.
Will there be more quakes in Haiti?
The USGS says that the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault system had not caused any major earthquake in decades before 2010.
For the 1751, 1770, and 1860 earthquakes, the fault system was probably the reason.
