On 12 January 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, leaving its capital Port-au-Prince devastated. About 220,000 people were reportedly killed, among them, 102 United Nations staff who lost their lives when the building housing the mission there, known as MINUSTAH, collapsed.
More than 200,000 Haitians who perished in the devastating earthquake which struck the island nation ten years ago, were honoured in a solemn ceremony of remembrance at UN Headquarters in New York on Friday, along with 102 staffers who died – the single greatest loss of life in the Organization’s history.
In the days following the earthquake ten years ago that killed around 220,000 Haitians, the sounds of praying, shouting and yelling filled the streets and a sense that “this was the end of the world”.
That’s one of the powerful memories from survivor Michèle Montas, the former UN Spokesperson who had just returned home to live in her native country, when disaster struck.
Within hours, she was working with the UN peacekeeping mission MINUSTAH, helping coordinate a huge international aid effort, the UN having lost 102 of its own staff on that fateful day.
In 2010 a devastating earthquake hit Haiti, reportedly killing up to 220’000 people, including 102 UN personnel. One of those who survived was Sophie Boutaud de la Combe: head of Communications for the UN Mission for Justice in Haiti (MINUJUSTH).
Saturday marks 9 years since the earthquake, a chance for Ms. Boutaud de la Combe to share with UN News her memories of 12 January 2010, and reflect on Haiti’s current ability to withstand disasters.
Half a capital city destroyed, 220,000 reported dead and 1 million residents displaced. This was the toll of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, which struck on 12 January, nine years ago.
The creation of jobs in Haiti is being seen as a key element in the recovery of the Caribbean island, two years after it was devastated by an earthquake.
Over 200,000 people were killed when the earthquake struck on January 12th 2010.
The United Nations supported Haiti through the immediate crisis and the reconstruction that followed.
And as Donn Bobb reports, attention is now focused on long-term economic recovery.
Duration: 2’23”