Major magnitude 7.3 quake hits Haiti - USGS (Breaking!)

Reuters UK ^ | 01/12/2010 | n/a

[Pyro7480]

A major magnitude 7.3 quake hit the impoverished country of Haiti Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The epicentre of the quake, which was initially reported a magnitude 7.0 off the coast, was located inland, six miles (10 km) west of Carrefour, close to the capital Port-au-Prince and was only 20.5 miles (30 km) deep. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere....

[Petronski]

The people of Haiti couldn't get their hands on so much as a yard of re-bar--even if they could afford it--and we're supposed to be relieved that at least no high-rises were harmed.

The ambassador interviewed on CNN moments after the event described a heavy pall of grey smoke. That's not from fire, it's from crushed concrete.

The people of Haiti cannot catch a break but, hey, at least they're too poor to have anything nice to fall in!

</BitterSarcasm>

[CaliforniaCon]

RE: “Have a close friend whose husband is in the foreign service and he got assigned to Haiti for a bit. My friend lasted exactly two weeks with the kids. She said it was so evil there, she could feel it in the air and in every cell in her body. She came back home and they met again after his tour of duty was done. She’s been everywhere and no place freaked her out like Haiti.”

***************

I hear that! Cannot imagine having to live there for even one day.

Was on a big cruise ship a few years ago - they lease a peninsula of Haiti called Labadee and local ‘workers’ are imported into the area via tiny boats when the ships dock there.

It’s pretty, with nice beaches, but there are armed guards around the perimeter, and vendors at the craft/art ‘shops’ within that tiny border are very pushy and intimidating. It can be frightening, no doubt about it.

The crew from the ships comes ashore with all the supplies for a big lunch for the passengers who choose to go ashore for beaches, banana boat and other beach activities for the day.

I did it once, but that was enough — I would avoid any itinerary that included Haiti now — it is the poorest of the poor, believe me.

[Petronski]

Actually, third world countries tend to do fairly well in earthquakes due to single story construction with lightweight materials.

Do you know anything about the geography of Port-au-Prince? Did you even look at the photo I posted?

[Misterioso]

God is no respecter of persons.

Amen.

[SaraJohnson]

I did it once, but that was enough — I would avoid any itinerary that included Haiti now — it is the poorest of the poor, believe me.

---

Which happens to match the spiritually darkest of the dark.

[UCANSEE2]

I wonder if Bill Clinton is getting on a plane as we speak, preparing to depart for Haiti?

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2272626/posts

[UCANSEE2]

“Which happens to match the spiritually darkest of the dark.”

Well, that explains this: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2272626/posts

[capydick]

http://www.worldbook.com/wb/content/np/na/fom/volcanoes/img/ringoffire.gif

[GiovannaNicoletta]

Yes, TaraP, we are seeing the birth pains Jesus told us would happen.

Draw close to the LORD in these perilous times!

We are at the point where the LORD is about to be the only hope for survival.

[Bon mots]

Sorry to upset your sensibilities, but you are all more gracious to others than I. I have the disadvantage of a hardened world view that allows a heavy dose of reality and a small dose of misplaced sympathy. I live in the real world, where there is success and failure, intelligence and stupidity. Haiti is a monumental failure.

I have seen enough and while some of these people are probably fine, as a society, they have managed to do little but create squalor and disease. Haiti's only notable export has been AIDS, and even that did not begin there...

The fine people of Singapore have built a sparkling jewel of a city in a mere 50 years with a similar population and starting point. The people of Singapore were brought as Coolie labor from China, India and other places in the British empire to work plantations. The Japanese devastated the city/state during WWII, but the Singaporeans rebuilt... and rebuilt... and rebuilt... and they did not whine about how whitey kept them down. They did not murder all the whites when they got independence... they got busy building an awesome city/state.

Haiti's story was a bit different. Sort of like if Al Sharpton suddenly found himself in charge... The Haitians went on a rampage and murdered nearly all of the whites in 1805 and have reaped what they have sown. A turd-world African failed state in an otherwise largely prosperous hemisphere - every single nation in our hemisphere - except Communist Cuba - is far more prosperous than anything Africa can claim - except Haiti. 200 years after the butchering of the white French, Port Au Prince is still a sewer.

I hope the people do not suffer needlessly, they are fellow human beings. However, Haiti is reaping what it has sown. Nothing good will ever come out of Haiti. Nothing good ever has.

The problem is not the geography, but the people.
Very un-PC, but the truth, like it or not.

[SaraJohnson]

BJ is a great match for “halping” Haiti.

[SE Mom]

Dear GOD...after seeing that photo I hate to even imagine what these people are going through..

Prayers for them all..

[Strategerist]

Yes, TaraP, we are seeing the birth pains Jesus told us would happen.

We're seeing completely normal, routine earthquake activity.

The number of large earthquakes was exactly average in 2009. The number of large earthquakes so far in 2010 is not particularly anomalous.

This earthquake occured in an unsurprising area, along a plate boundary, Hispaniola has a long history of repeated, massive earthquakes.

[Petronski]

I’m going to pray for you.

That’s the most asinine, racist post I’ve read in a long time here.

I certainly hope it’s not deleted.

[GiovannaNicoletta]

And that's fine.

Those of us who believe Scripture and believe what Jesus said about conditions in the world right before His return watch all these earthquakes lately in conjunction with all the other fulfilled signs and see something more than just another earthquake.

There will be millions of people who believe these are just routine earthquakes. They are entitled to believe that.

Then there are those of us who marvel at the daily fulfillment of Bible prophecy - including "earthquakes in diverse places" (Matthew 24:7) and see something else entirely.

[Zathras]

I like it!
We need more conservatives teaching and learning pure science.

Back when I took geology , montserrat hadn’t errupted so we spent most of our time talking about the Pacific Rim.

Now when I think of montserrat, I’ll have to investigate Atlantic fault lines too.

BTW, I was in CA during the 89 earthquake. Talk about a learning experience.

[Red_Devil 232]

Depends on what type of a fault it was that moved. Not familiar with that area.

If it was a thrust fault (one side moves vertical - pushing up) it would depend on how far it moved and how big an area of the ocean it moved under. Big up ward movement over a Big area Big wave!

[OldDeckHand]

"That’s the most asinine, racist post I’ve read in a long time here."

I'm assuming you mean his post #130, if so, I have to agree with everything he said, although perhaps he could have chosen kinder words, given the recent tragedy.

I have been to Haiti several times. To describe it as a mess, would be a profound understatement. Haiti, and the Haitian people never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. And, I don't believe it's "racists" to say so - after all, their island neighbors, who are virtually identical in ethnic makeup, do a much, much better job of managing their limited resources.

Haiti's problems are racial, but national - purely national. This latest tragedy is only going to make a miserable country, that much less livable, or even survivable, to be sure.

[Karliner]

Just speculating. Wouldn’t an earthquake under shallow water produce less of a tsunami due to the fact it wouldn’t have to move as much water?

Yes. A lot more is involved. I was just in the 6.5 earthquake( live close to Ferndale in California) and that one was from a fault in the ocean in fairly deep water. The movement however was horizontal plate movement and the major push of the tsunami even if vertical would have been out to sea more than toward shore.

No earthquake over 6.0 is humorous but it amazes me that folks still think waves can be generated into surfing waves by earthquake. The other myths were if 25 miles away then at the speed of sound a tsunami would still give folks time to vacate the area. Not so. The tsunami would be almost simultaneous Here's a little site I love:

regarding mythbusting tsunamis

Tsunamis propagate by up and down movement like a regular wave, not by horizontal pressure. Of course, the situation is not 100% clear cut because up and down movement causes changes in pressure as water builds up under the wave. Tsunamis travel fast because of their long wavelength. In shallow water, a wave's speed is given by c^2=gxd

where c = the speed of the wave (or phase velocity) in meters/sec, g = the gravitational acceleration (9.8066 meters/s2 ) and d = wave depth in meters. This means that as the depth doubles, the speed of the wave is quadrupled. In deep water, a wave's speed is described by linear wave theory, which assumes that transport of water is small enough to be ignored. The speed is given by c=gt/2pi or

t=0.641c

and

l=1.56t^2

where c = the speed of the wave (or phase velocity) in meters/second, g = the gravitational acceleration (9.8066 meters/second2), l = wavelength in meters, and t = time between crests (the wave period) in seconds. This equation means that at a constant depth, the speed is proportional to the wave period. A tsunami traveling at 450 miles per hour would have a wave period of 129 seconds and a wavelength of 16 miles. The waves will sharpen up somewhat and lose their sinusoidal shape as they approach the shore. The wavelength will also decrease because the waves are moving more slowly. However, the time between crests remains the same. The distance between wave peaks is always much longer than a regular wave.

Tsunami speed in ocean is not the speed of sound but: This myth is probably the reason some people think a tsunami is a compression wave. In fact, the speed of sound in salt water is about 1500 meters/second, or 3355 miles per hour. This is about 4.4 times faster than the speed of sound in air at sea level, which is about 742 miles per hour at 0 degrees C. (For the sake of comparison, the speed of sound in steel is 17 times faster than in air, or 13,332 miles per hour. At 30,000 feet, the speed of sound in air drops to 676 miles per hour.)

A tsunami traveling at 600 miles per hour is only going about 1/5 the speed of sound in water.

[Red_Devil 232]

Well he did respond with a message. Wonder if those in Eureka, California got a message from the WON?