On January 12, 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the Republic of Haiti, a Caribbean island at 18.9˚N and 72.3˚W, 3170 km to the east of Mexico. The accident occurred 15-25 kilometers west of the capital, Port-au-Prince, at 4.53pm local time. It occurred just 6.2 miles (9.98 km) below the surface and its effects were devastating, affecting 3 million people. The Inter-American Development Bank estimated that this figure would rise to $13.9 billion over time. This made it the costliest seismic event as a percentage of a country's gross domestic product, as it cost approximately 100–200% of Haiti's GDP. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Haiti has a limited history of earthquakes. The only notable earthquake that Haiti experienced before 2010 was the 8.1 magnitude earthquake of 1946. Its epicenter was located in the Dominican Republic and the shaking spread to Haiti. The earthquake was caused by the shift of the transform boundary between the Caribbean and North American tectonic plates. As the two plates slid in an east-west direction in what is called a strike-slip boundary, this type of tectonic movement caused motion to accumulate along areas on the boundary. The pressure was finally released and the sudden movement of the plates caused tremors to be sent across the Earth's crust. The fault system that ruptured causing the Haiti earthquake is known as the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault system. Around 200,000 dead and 300,000 injured. Damages between A$11.5 billion and A$12.5 billion, possibly A$20.46 billion over time. Emergency responses have generated large amounts of medical waste that has accumulated within hospitals and medical care centers. 1.3 million citizens homeless, due to damaged infrastructure. They reduced GDP by 5.1%. Population displacement (greater population density in regions further away from the earthquake's epicenter) has put a strain on local resources. It brought international attention to the already struggling island and inspired many large donations, made mostly via credit cards, of which most companies waived the interchange fee (including Capital One, Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover). The employment crisis in Haiti is worsening, where 70% of people are already unemployed. The unemployed also seek and receive free services that disrupt the local market. Water contaminated by disease, chemicals, oil and rubble. Before the disaster, Haiti was the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. With a poor socioeconomic situation and a limited history of large earthquakes, Haiti's citizens were vulnerable to the earthquake. Small exports and poor economic performance lead to the state of poverty that Haiti found itself in. The lack of an enforced building code has led to the creation of many poorly constructed, multi-story buildings, many of which have collapsed. Its weak economy led to a poor standard of living and education system, which amplified the damage caused by the disaster. Environmental degradation has further deteriorated the state of the country. Due to the low income of the island's citizens, many found the trees as a source of fuel for cooking. This intensive deforestation has led to the reduction of forests, which now cover less than 3% of Haiti's territory. This deterioration of the natural environment and resources has increased Haiti's vulnerability to natural disasters. Agricultural income has also declined, adding to the economic problems mentioned above. Environmental decline has plagued the recovery.