On October 6, 2018, at approximately 8:11 p.m, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 19 kilometers northwest of Port-de-Paix, Haiti.[2] The earthquake damaged structures and killed 18 people.[1]
The earthquake was the strongest to hit Haiti since January 12, 2010,[3] not including the aftershocks of the 2010 earthquake, and the shaking was felt as far away as Port-au-Prince.[4]
The earthquake caused part of a school to collapse in Gros-Morne,[6] damaged the façade of the Paroisse St. Michel A De Plaisance church in Plaisance,[7] caused a cultural center to collapse in Gros-Morne,[8] damaged a holding cell at the Police Nationale d'Haiti Commissariat de Port-de-Paix in Port-de-Paix,[9] allowing several detainees to escape,[8] caused an auditorium to collapse in Gros-Morne,[4] damaged several classrooms at San Gabriel National School in Gros-Morne,[6] and destroyed houses in the communes of Chansolme,[citation needed] Gros-Morne,[10] Plaisance,[7] and Port-de-Paix as well as on the island of Tortuga.[10]
Overall, a total of 2,102 houses were destroyed, and a further 15,932 were damaged.[1]
Casualties
The earthquake killed 18 people and 548 people were injured.[1] Nine of the deaths occurred in Port-de-Paix, seven in Gros-Morne and one in Saint-Louis du Nord.[11]
Response
PresidentJovenel Moïse instructed residents to stay calm and stated that authorities would be responding to those who need help.[12]
The day after the earthquake, President Moïse visited Port-de-Paix de oversee the recovery efforts.[14]
Aftershocks
There have been two aftershocks since the initial earthquake struck. A magnitude 5.2 event occurred nearly 20 hours after the mainshock, with another magnitude 4.2 event happening about 5 hours later.[11]
In the first 8 months of 2018, there were 26 earthquakes between the magnitudes of 2.9 and 4.6 recorded.[8]