Haiti earthquake what type

BOGOTA, Aug 16 Reuters - Almost 1, people have been reported killed by a powerful earthquake that rocked Haiti on Saturday, with thousands more injured, and tens of thousands of buildings destroyed or damaged. The destruction came little more than a decade after a devastating earthquake that destroyed Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince and killed more than , people.

Here's a look at why the Caribbean country is affected by earthquakes. Haiti occupies the western part of Hispaniola, a Caribbean island it shares with the Dominican Republic. Hispaniola is sandwiched between two fault systems, the Septentrional fault system to the north, and the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault system in the south.

The Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault system is considered likely responsible for Saturday's quake, as well as the one in , according to the U. Earthquakes happen when two tectonic plates - separate parts of the Earth's crust - suddenly slip past each other. Though friction holds these two plates together, the sudden release of energy in seismic waves cause the shaking associated with earthquakes.

After the earthquake, Hough was part of a team of scientists that traveled to Haiti to install seismometers. She returned in the subsequent years to help establish an earthquake monitoring network and, she says, is working now to figure out "what we can do to support this fledgling network and this community. All rights reserved. Share Tweet Email.

Read This Next Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London. Animals Wild Cities Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London Love them or hate them, there's no denying their growing numbers have added an explosion of color to the city's streets. India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big. Environment Planet Possible India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big Grassroots efforts are bringing solar panels to rural villages without electricity, while massive solar arrays are being built across the country.

Epic floods leave South Sudanese to face disease and starvation. Travel 5 pandemic tech innovations that will change travel forever These digital innovations will make your next trip safer and more efficient. But will they invade your privacy?

Go Further. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals This frog mysteriously re-evolved a full set of teeth. Animals Wild Cities Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London. Animals Wild Cities Morocco has 3 million stray dogs. Meet the people trying to help. Animals Whales eat three times more than previously thought. Environment Planet Possible India bets its energy future on solar—in ways both small and big. Environment As the EU targets emissions cuts, this country has a coal problem.

Paid Content How Hong Kong protects its sea sanctuaries. History Magazine These 3,year-old giants watched over the cemeteries of Sardinia. Magazine How one image captures 21 hours of a volcanic eruption. These large pieces of Earth's crust surf atop its liquid mantle and get moved around by rising and falling magma and rock.

The plates fit together like puzzle pieces, but sometimes the pressure from material below wrenches them apart or shoves them together, causing an earthquake.

On Saturday morning around local time, about six miles below Haiti's southern peninsula, the Caribbean plate moved eastward, crawling up and over its neighbor. More than 1 million people felt the resulting shaking across the island of Hispaniola — which Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic — as well as in Jamaica, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. At least 1, people are dead and 6, are injured in Haiti, the Associated Press reported.

That, however, is likely an undercount by an order of magnitude, according to the US Geological Survey. Under Hispaniola, two faults crisscross, but Haiti's major quakes have all been traced to the the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault system, which travels right under Port-Au-Prince. The earthquake and Saturday's disaster both happened along that fault, and both involved the same type of plate motion.

So it's possible the former led to the latter, Rychert said: "Sometimes when strain is released on one section of a fault it can cause stress to build on other parts of the fault system. Earle said the agency is most worried about another quake hitting closer to Port-Au-Prince.

The epicenter of Saturday's quake was just south of Petit Troup de Nippes, 78 miles west of the capital. But predicting that future quake is nearly impossible, Earle added.

And regardless of whether another quake comes, aftershocks from Saturday's are expected to continue over "the next week, month, and beyond," the USGS said. Big quakes struck in , , and , after which the region settled into a year-long quiet period.

Then the big earthquake shattered that peace.