[EnjoyingLife]

Photographs via http://chamorrobible.org/gpw/gpw-201001.htm (55, 46, 37, 36, 59)

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Poor construction on buildings.

[sionnsar]

Corruption.

[GeronL]

Being such a rich, advanced and modern country Haiti found its hi-tech systems vulnerable to earthquakes?

//sarc

Seriously. Its dirt poor. It needs liberty and capitalism, badly.

Plus when you get that high on the rochter scale, concrete basically turns liquid.

[Texas Eagle]

For one thing, it appears their building codes prohibit the use of rebar.

[buccaneer81]

Because we evil capitalist white Americans didn’t give up even more of our paychecks to build quakeproof housing for a noble and deserving third world hellhole.

[ConservaTexan]

Because the higher you can inflate the numbers, the more international (U.S) $$$ you can expect.

[LiberConservative]

The dirt they could have used to reinforce their buildings they had to eat to survive.

[digger48]

Why did so many people die in Haiti's quake?

Cause George Bush hates black people.

[James C. Bennett]

Another factor, besides the poor construction quality, is the construction material.

Concrete in warm countries is fatal during earthquakes.

Cold countries use wood-based materials, for the most part.

[cricket]

What HAS the UN been doing there these past years? Certainly nothing of substance that would actually have advanced this country. Oh. . .that's right. UN 'Relief' WAS the premier business of Haity. . .and the UN and USA promoted it for all it was worth. This kind of poverty of mind and will, does kill.

OK. . .yes, the poor construction never meant to meet an earthquake and endure. . .nor the population so embedded.

One more thing; the 'rescue' itself.

[arthurus]

Concrete without steel in it is just not resistant to shaking. I lived in Istanbul as a child in the 50s and I remember every time there was a little shock that might move my bed at night an inch or make me skip a step, a couple of apartment buildings would collapse. I saw one of them after such a joltlet. It was just a pile of rubble. I remember my dad looking at the debris and saying,”No steel, what were they thinking?”

[Falconspeed]

A centralized government forced everyone to move to the main city with zero building codes. The solution is a non-centralized government and reasonable building codes.

[hosepipe]

WHY?... houses built on and out of sand.. with a little concrete..

[jacknhoo]

Maybe we should ask Nagin?!

[icwhatudo]

No rebar.

[Paladin2]

Gravity, the mechanics of materials, and architectural design and engineering.

[JohnBovenmyer]

Uncle Sam has “saved” them what, 15-20 times over the past century. We must have built them some buildings over that time. It would be an interesting exercise in real journalism to see how such held up compared to native construction.

[null and void]

Earthquakes don’t kill people.
Buildings kill people.

[FrankR]

"Why did so many people die in Haiti's quake?

Uhhh, because they were there when the earthquake occured?

No, seriously, it was all George Bush's Fault.

[Little Ray]

Building codes. China has ‘em and adheres to them, sort of. Haiti doesn’t.
Also China can handle its own emergencies. Haiti can’t.