August 14, 2021 was a critical moment of Haitian history.
On that day, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake has, quite literally, shook the urban land of Haiti, killing more than 2,000 people and injuring 12,000 more. It is estimated that 540,000 children are also impacted and displaced as a result of the detrimental earthquake. While search efforts were faithful, praying to find just one more survivor under the ruins of destroyed buildings, as of September 1st almost all of them has started to reach its end due to the time elapsed since that day.
How strong is a 7.2 earthquake, you may ask. Think about it this way. A magnitude of 2.5 or less is usually not felt by humans, although seismographs, tools that are used to measure the intensity of earthquakes, can detect them and record it into larger databases. In fact, these earthquakes are relatively common - millions are recorded per year. A magnitude between 2.5 and 5.4 is a little stronger. We as humans can feel them, but still, it is relatively weak and only causes minor damage, like plates falling off from shelves or furnitures moving from its place.
Magnitude 5.5 to 6.0 is quite stronger. It starts to do actual damage to buildings, especially those that are poorly designed and built. Taking Haiti as an example, because much of the foundational building blocks of Haitian buildings in rural areas were very weak, even a 6.0 earthquake would have caused severe damage. Once the earthquake enters 6.1 to 6.9 magnitude, it may start to cause devastating damage in cities, such as San Francisco. The 1989 San Francisco earthquake that shook the Bay Area was a magnitude 6.9 earthquake that caused over sixty casualties and $5 billion in property damage. So imagine an earthquake stronger than this one, hitting a poor, rural area of a developing country. To be honest, it’s not a shocking result. It’s expected to leave such a calamitous mark in the Haitian society.
And perhaps it is upto the global community to remediate the natural consequences. Efforts have already began; many global organizations have raced to send economical, social, and medical help to Haiti. However, clearly, the help is not enough. Dr. Edward Destine, an orthopedic surgeon in Haiti, told the New York Times that he was “‘the only surgeon’” in the region. While patients are pouring in - all desperately crying out for help - he simply does not have the time, resources, and people to carry out all surgeries. Haiti at that time was still recovering form the 2010 earthquake that killed around quarter-million people; with the lack of adequate resources, it must depend on neighboring nations and organizations to reduce the number of lives lost as much as possible.
Earthquakes are natural disasters, and it can happen to anywhere, anytime. Like the saying , “What goes around, comes around,” the world will remember how we as the United States - a global leader - treat countries in danger. Whether we be bystanders or active helpers, it will make a lasting impression upon the world. Isn’t this a wonderful time to return being empathetic again?