Haiti earthquake: situation report 4 - 23 August 2021

As a result of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake on August 14, 2021, according to Haiti's Civil Protection agency (DGPC), 2,207 people have died, 12,268 people were injured, and 320 are missing. In the most affected departments ­ Sud, Grand'Anse and Nippes ­ around 53,000 houses were destroyed and more than 77,000 damaged. Rapid assessments reported 59 health facilities affected in Grand'Anse, Nippes and Sud Departments: 27 severely damaged and 32 slightly damaged. In the affected departments, health sector evaluators are carrying out assessments to gather data on injured patients (hospitalizations, types of injuries and demographics) and the degree of damage to health facilities and needs. Logistics and security challenges continue limiting the delivery of supplies, deployment of personnel to affected areas and the transfer of patients to hospitals that are not overwhelmed. Health sector needs include: medical personnel, medicines, supplies and stock management, mental health and psychosocial support initiatives, implementation of preventive and control measures for communicable diseases, WASH operations in health facilities and shelters, rehabilitation of injured patients, among others

Background papers and supplementary technical information

Population growth and the built environment are the primary root causes of morbidity and mortality associated with earthquakes. Earthquakes generally do not cause death and injury, but rather it is the buildings in which people are located and the contents therein that are directly responsible for human mortality and morbidity. Protective action messaging is intended to provide members of the public with information that can be recalled and acted on during earthquake shaking to reduce the chance of death and injury. In order to design appropriate guidance for developing protective action messages for earthquakes, it is important to understand their human impact­that is, how people are injured and killed during earthquake shaking. The purpose of this background paper is to describe the epidemiology of deaths and injuries during earthquakes. The paper will address the major causes of death and injury from earthquakes, including what the research indicates about injuries to building occupants who walk or run, the likelihood of death or injury from earthquakes, the likelihood of death or injury from earthquake-related building collapse, the likelihood of death or injury from substandard building evacuation routes during earthquakes, and other sudden onset threats, such as tsunami or fire. The health effects of earthquakes can be categorized in a variety of ways. Combs, Quenemoen, Parrish, and Davis (1999) developed a typology, which has been adopted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for categorizing the health effects attributable to earthquakes and other disasters based on two parameters: (1) the time the death or injury occurs relative to the event, and (2) whether the event is directly or indirectly related to the disaster. Deaths and injuries that are directly related are those that are caused by the physical forces of the event, whereas indirectly related deaths and injuries are, "those caused by unsafe or unhealthy conditions that occur because of the anticipation, or actual occurrence, of the disaster" (Combs et al., 1999, p. 1125). This paper will focus primarily on human deaths and injuries occurring during earthquakes that are directly related to the event.

Red semántica de terremoto y maremoto en personas expuestas directa y vicariamente / Rede semântica de terremoto e tsunami em pessoas expostas diretamente e vicariamente / Semantic networks of earthquake and tsunami in people exposed directly and vicariously

Se busca identificar el significado de los conceptos 'terremoto' y 'maremoto' en dos grupos diferentemente expuestos al evento acaecido en Chile el 27/02/2010, en una muestra no probabilística intencional, compuesta por 240 personas provenientes de las ciudades de Constitución (n=104) - expuestas directamente al terremoto y maremoto -, y de Punta Arenas (n=136) expuestas vicariamente. Mediante redes semánticas naturales (R.S.) construidas ad-hoc, fue observado que terremoto y tsunami tienen significados semejantes, relacionados al miedo, muerte, destrucción, desesperación, desastre, pérdida, angustia, tristeza, pena, dolor y pánico. Adicionalmente, aquellos que vivieron directamente el fenómeno utilizan más definidoras de tipo emocional al definir terremoto que aquellos que fueron expuestos a él de modo vicario.

Procurou-se identificar o significado dos conceitos 'terremoto' e 'tsunami' em dois grupos diferentemente expostos ao evento acontecido no Chile em 27/02/2010, em uma amostra não-probabilística intencional, composta por 240 pessoas provenientes das cidades de Constitución (n=104), expostas diretamente ao terremoto e ao maremoto, e de Punta Arenas (n=136), expostas vicariamente. Pelas redes semânticas naturais (R.S.) construídas ad hoc, foi observado que terremoto e tsunami têm significados semelhantes, relacionadas a medo, morte, destruição, desespero, desastre, perda, angústia, tristeza, pena, dor e pânico. Além disso, aqueles que experimentaram diretamente o fenômeno tendem a usar mais palavras de cunho emocional para definir terremoto, do que aqueles que foram expostos a ele vicariamen.

The purpose of this research was to describe the meaning of "earthquake" and "tsunami" in two groups with different exposures to the Chilean natural disaster on February 27th, 2010. A non-probabilistic sample of two-hundred-forty subjects from Constitución (n=104) and Punta Arenas (n=136) was selected. The first group was directly exposed to the earthquake and tsunami and the second group was indirectly exposed. Natural semantic network analysis (SNA) evidenced that both groups have the same semantic representation of earthquake and tsunami, using emotional words such as fear, death, destruction, despair, disaster, loss, anxiety, sadness, pain and panic. Additionally, those who directly experienced the phenomenon use more emotional words to define earthquake than those exposed to it vicariously.

Características epidemiológicas de los fallecidos durante el terremoto y maremoto de Chile 2010 / Epidemiological profile of deaths after the 2010 earthquake in Chile

Background: On February 27, 2010 a powerful earthquake followed by a tsunami stroke Chile. The study of mortality during this emergency can provide important public health information. Aim: To describe the main characteristics of people who died during the earthquake and the following three months. Material and Methods: Cross sectional analysis of death records databases obtained from Department of Health Statistics and Information of the Ministry of Health and the Coroner office. Results: Until May 25,2010, 505 corpses were completely identified. Seventy two of these corresponded to people aged 80 years or more. The higher age adjusted death rates per 100,000 inhabitants were observed among subjects aged more than 80 years and those aged 70 to 79 years (22.6 and 7.7 respectively). The higher rates of deaths were observed in regions where the earthquake had a higher intensity and coastal regions affected by the tsunami. The causes of death were trauma in 75% of cases and drowning in 25%. There was no association between the Mercalli scale of earthquake intensity and rates of death. Among deceased subjects, there was a concentration of unemployed, under educated and low socioeconomic status subjects. Conclusions: After the earthquake, the higher rates of deaths occurred among older people and in the region of the epicenter of the earthquake. Most deaths were due to trauma.

Health response to the earthquake in Haiti january 2010: lessons to be learned for the next massive sudden-onset disaster

The objective of this publication is to draw the lessons to be learned for improving the health response in future sudden-onset disasters. We know that massive earthquakes will occur again and some will devastate metropolitan areas or even the capital city, as was the case in Haiti. Haiti is the subject of this study, hopefully not the object, as Haiti has had her share of catastrophes.The scope of the book is limited to the health response, health being defined in its broad sense, not merely medical care or disease control. The review is confined to the immediate and early response in the first three months, the period during which most of the international assistance was mobilized and influences, for better or worse, rehabilitation and reconstruction. The publication focuses specially but not exclusively on those lessons that are of general interest, i.e., not specific to the special case of Haiti. The international community has much to learn from the response in Haiti where it has shown an ability to repeat its errors and shortcomings from past disasters. The methodology used for this study is common to most evaluations: in-depth review of reports, evaluations, studies, and peer-reviewed scientific publications; over 150 interviews, half of them carried out exclusively for this study and others for similar evaluations carried out by one of the three authors; circulation of the draft to all interviewees for factual validation and comments on the authors’ interpretation of the findings; and, finally, discussion with a review board convened by PAHO/WHO.