Haiti Earthquake

Overview

On August 14, 2021, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Haiti's Tiburon Peninsula, about 150 km west of Port-au-Prince. The quake was even stronger than the catastrophic 2010 earthquake and struck a region with limited infrastructure. Over 2,200 people were killed and 12,000 injured. More than 130,000 homes were destroyed or severely damaged, leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. The disaster was compounded by Tropical Depression Grace, which struck two days later, bringing heavy rain and flooding to the earthquake zone. Hospitals were overwhelmed, roads blocked by landslides, and many communities cut off from aid. International organizations mounted a large-scale response focused on search and rescue, emergency medical care, shelter, and food distribution.