US study describes Haiti quake as ‘worst disaster in modern history’
February 17th, 2010 - 12:12 pm ICT by ANIWashington/Port-au-Prince, Feb.17 (ANI): A study by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) has declared and described the devastation caused by the Haiti earthquake as the worst destructive disaster in modern history.
The 7.0 magnitude earthquake, which killed up to 250,000 people, has caused as much as 14 billion dollars in damage, making it the most destructive natural disaster in modern history, The Times quoted the IADB study, as saying.
“While the ballpark estimates of the number of people killed or missing are similar to the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia, the population of Haiti is only a small fraction of the one of the Asian countries, making this particular event more damaging than that infamous tsunami,” the study, by three economists linked to the bank, said.
“It is the most destructive event a country has ever experienced when measured in terms of the number of people killed as a share of the country’s population and affected the capital city of the country: the center of commerce, government and communication,” it said.
“Indeed, in this respect the Haiti earthquake was vastly more destructive than the Indonesian tsunami of 2004 and the cyclone that hit Myanmar (Burma)in 2008,” the statement continued.
“It caused five times more deaths per million inhabitants than the second-ranking natural killer, the 1972 earthquake in Nicaragua.”
The 14 billion-dollar figure is the Washington-based bank’s upper estimate for the cost of reconstructing homes, schools, streets and other infrastructure in Haiti following the January 12 quake.
Using the official Haitian government death toll of 230,000 dead led to a damage estimate of 7.7 billion dollars, with a range between 4.4 billion dollars and 13.2 billion dollars.
The authors said the damages could be in the upper range of the estimate.
The IDB said a more detailed accounting of the situation would come in the following months but that its preliminary study showed that the reconstruction cost was likely to be far higher than anticipated. (ANI)
- 'Haiti reconstruction will cost $14 bn' - Feb 17, 2010
- Haiti reconstruction could cost nearly $14 bn: Study - Feb 17, 2010
- Chile hit by 7.2 magnitude earthquake - Jan 03, 2011
- China, Latin America to build investment platform - Mar 22, 2012
- Recalling the 2004 tsunami that devastated Aceh - Apr 11, 2012
- Quakes are decade's worst disasters, says UN report - Jan 30, 2010
- Pak floods 'greatest humanitarian crisis in recent history': UN - Aug 10, 2010
- Quake-hit Haiti needs 11.5 billion dollars to rebuild - Mar 18, 2010
- Clinton Foundation gives $1 mn for Haiti hurricane safety - Jun 02, 2010
- Shakira donates $400,900 to rebuild Haiti school - Apr 02, 2011
- Tokyo to cover all reconstruction costs in quake-hit areas‎ - Mar 28, 2011
- New Zealand to spend 8.5 billion dollars on Christchurch rebuild - Apr 12, 2011
- Powerful earthquakes strike off Vanuatu, generating small tsunamis - Aug 21, 2011
- Strong earthquake rocks Papua New Guinea's New Britain, no reports of damage - Jun 16, 2011
- 1.3 mn Haitians still in camps months after quake: UN - Sep 03, 2010
Tags: asian countries, billion dollars, center of commerce, damage estimate, destructive event, dollar figure, haitian government, iadb, idb, indonesian tsunami, inter american development bank, magnitude earthquake, modern history, myanmar burma, natural disaster, natural killer, population of haiti, port au prince, upper estimate, worst disaster