On January 12, 2010, a powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.3 on the Richter scale shook Haiti. The epicenter of the earthquake was close to the town of Léogâne, around 17 km south-west of the capital Port-au-Prince in the Department of Ouest. The earthquake created an unprecedented situation, affecting all sectors of society. Around 1.5 million people, representing 15% of the total population were directly affected. Over 220,000 people lost their lives and over 300,000 were injured. Thousands of people required psychological support or psychosocial supervision. Around 1.3 million people became homeless and over 500,000 people left theaffected area to find refuge in the provinces, adding pressure to an already precarious socio-economic situation. Some 105,000 homes were completely destroyed and more than 208,000 damaged. Over 1,300 educational establishments, and over 50 hospitals and health centres collapsed became unusable. The President’s Palace, Parliament, the Law Courts, and most of the Ministry and public administration buildings were destroyed.
In order to respond to a catastrophe of this scale, Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) was undertaken to lay the foundations for a fresh start in the country’s development efforts as well as to reconstruct the damaged areas and contribute to a long-term national strategic development plan. The assessment was carried out under the supervision of the High Level Management Team led by the Prime Minister and including the following members: the United Nations Humanitarian/Resident Coordinator, a representative of the United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti, the World Bank Mission Leader, the Resident Representative of the IDB, three G11 representatives, and the European Union Head of Delegation. Over two hundred national and international experts worked in eight thematic teams: governance, production, social sectors, infrastructure, regional development, the environment and disaster risk management, as well as cross-cutting themes and a macro-economic analysis. This PDNA was funded by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) with financial support from the European Commission and the governments of Australia, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
The total value of the damage and losses caused by the January 12 2010 earthquake is estimated at US$ 7.8 billion, equivalent to 120% of the country’s GDP in 2009. Total damage was estimated at US$ 4.3 billion (55% of the total), while losses were estimated at US$ 3.5 billion (45% of the total). The total value of needs above and beyond reconstruction were estimated at US$ 11.5 billion over three years: 52% for the social sectors; 15% for infrastructure; 11% for the environment and risk and disaster management; and the rest between the production sectors, governance, and the cross-cutting aspects. Seven priorities were identified: (i) prepare for the 2010 rainy / cyclone season ensuring participation by women and young people; (ii) provide for the well-being, nutrition, and care of Haiti’s children; (iii) immediately and systematically incorporate environmental aspects in all decisions; (iv) build risk and disaster management measures into the (re) construction process; (v) put in place an active employment policy based on micro-businesses; (vi) reconstruct the State and the economy so they are able to serve all the people of Haiti; and (vii) relieve congestion in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area by putting in place incentives for settling the population around growth hubs.