The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake. Its epicentre was near Léogâne, approximately 25 km (16 miles) west of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. The earthquake occurred at 16:53:10 local time (21:53:10 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010,[4][5] at a depth of 13 km (8.1 miles). The United States Geological Survey recorded a series of at least 33 aftershocks, fourteen of them between magnitudes 5.0 and 5.9.[6] The International Red Cross estimated that about three million people were affected by the quake,[7] and the Haitian Interior Minister, Paul Antoine Bien-Aimé, anticipated on 15 January that between 100,000 and 200,000 would have died as a result of the disaster,[3] exceeding earlier Red Cross estimates of 45,000–50,000.[8] Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive announced on 18 January that over 70,000 bodies had been buried in mass graves.[9]
The earthquake caused major damage to Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area. Most major landmarks were significantly damaged or destroyed, including the Presidential Palace (President René Préval survived), the National Assembly building, the Port-au-Prince Cathedral, and the main jail.[10][11][12] Compounding the tragedy, most hospitals in the area were destroyed.[13] The United Nations (UN) reported that the headquarters of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), located in the capital, had collapsed and that the Mission's Chief, Hédi Annabi, his deputy, Luiz Carlos da Costa, and the acting police commissioner were confirmed dead.[14][15]
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