 "Photo: Photos courtesy United Nations Development Programme")
 "Photo: Graphic")
The earthquake disaster in Haiti has taken the lives of thousands of people and destroyed a city. Regardless of how far Haiti may be, the affects are shown in the relief efforts that have been extended my many all over the world.
But according to Roger Steinberg, professor of natural science, the situation in Haiti is not unlike those in California.
“In Haiti, the fault that slipped is called the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault,” Steinberg said. “Like the San Andreas Fault in CA, the Enriquillo- Plantain Garden Fault is a strike-slip fault, and separates two of the Earth’s tectonic plates. The plates on either side of strike-slip faults move in opposite directions as they slide or grind past one another.”
Steinberg explains that both faults are hundreds of kilometers in length and although the Enriquillo- Plantain Garden Fault caused the disastrous earthquake in Haiti, the San Andreas Fault is more active.
“The section newar Port au Prince [in Haiti] was ‘locked’ and had not produced a large earthquake in 250 years,” Steinberg said.
According to Steinberg, there are many additional factors that contributed to the severity of the earthquake in Haiti and the loss of life.
“The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti was not an exceptionally large one. The quake was quite shallow, originating only 10-15 kilometers below the surface, so very little energy was absorbed by overlying rocks,” Steinberg said.
The enormous amounts of property damage traces back to the construction of buildings.
“Many buildings and homes in Haiti were built with materials like cinder blocks and unreinforced concrete,” Steinberg said. “These were not able to withstand the shaking produced by the earthquake and crumbled or collapsed, killing, or injuring the occupants.”
The current disaster situation in Haiti has brought organizations and individuals together, donating their time and money to those in Haiti in their time of need. The DMC community is encouraged to contribute and make a difference.
TACHE Del Mar, Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education, have organized an effort to the DMC community to contribute monetary donations to the Haiti Relief Effort.Donations made out to the American Red Cross will be accepted through February 15 in the Coles Bldg room 139 or room 216 in the Harvin Center.
Throughout the DMC community, faculty and students have expressed a range of views on Haiti and the relief efforts.
“A lot of people are concerned about the economy,” Marlene Webb, a biology major said. “It’s inhumane not to offer assistance.”
Art major Belinda Torres shared those sentiments.
“We should definitely be there,” said Torres, “We have many resources here in the United States that could really assist the people of Haiti.”
“This is a tragic time for any community,” said Tamatha Jackson, assistant director of TRiO Student Support Services, “It’s devastating and unimaginable to even begin to think what these people are going through. It’s sort of a saving grace to see support like money and supplies from lots of countries to help Haiti.”
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