The 2021 Haiti earthquake is twice as powerful as the catastrophic 2010 earthquake

The last earthquake in Haiti had a magnitude of 7.2, while the 2010 earthquake had a magnitude of 7.0.

Heartbreaking images from Haiti show the devastation and destruction after the powerful earthquake on August 14, which destroyed thousands of homes and killed nearly 1,300 people.

Some news reports and social media posts claim that this earthquake was more powerful than the earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010 along the same fault line, killing nearly 300,000 people. It is widely considered the worst natural disaster in the nation’s history.

Avalanche: A major # Earthquake has struck in western Haiti near Les Cayes. The initial 7.2 magnitude earthquake is likely more powerful than the devastating #Haiti earthquake in 2010. pic.twitter.com/UQUrIc2ACQ

– WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) August 14, 2021

the question

Was the August 14 earthquake in Haiti stronger than the earthquake that hit the country in 2010?

Sources

the answer

Yes, the August 14, 2021 earthquake in Haiti was twice as powerful as the 2010 earthquake.

what we found

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) tracks earthquakes around the world, including the magnitude of each, which is the most common measure of an earthquake’s magnitude. They recorded a 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Haiti on August 14, compared to a 7.0-magnitude earthquake in January 2010.

In terms of the energy it releases [the Aug. 14] “You’re likely to feel a stronger tremor from this earthquake if you were standing directly above it than you would have felt in the 2010 earthquake,” said physicist William Barnhart.

To measure the magnitude of earthquakes, scientists use a “momentum meter” that increases exponentially as the strength of earthquakes increases. An earthquake with a decimal point above the scale (in other words, a magnitude of 7.1 compared to a 7.0) is about 1.4 times stronger, making a 7.2 earthquake almost twice as powerful as a 7.0 earthquake. An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 is 32 times stronger than an earthquake of 7.0.

The latest earthquake also hit nearly two miles more ground than the quake in 2010, which could make the shaking stronger, although Barnhart says estimates of earthquake depth could change over time as the USGS gets more data. .

So the August 2021 earthquake was much stronger than the 2010 earthquake.

But the epicenter of the 2010 earthquake was outside Haiti’s densely populated capital, Port-au-Prince, compounding the devastation. The earthquake caused dozens of aftershocks and destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes and buildings. Officials estimate the death toll to be as high as 300,000.

Last weekend’s earthquake hit 60 miles to the west, in a more rural area, so the devastation wasn’t focused, though still horrific.

“Thousands of deaths is an incredible number, but compare that to the 200,000 or more who died in 2010,” Barnhart said. “It really happened in a rural area, away from large population centers, which we hope may have contributed to fewer deaths.”

These early estimates may change as search and rescue efforts continue. Destroyed infrastructure and destroyed buildings have made some roads impassable for life-saving crews.

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