Why did so many die in the Haiti earthquake but relatively few in the Loma Prieta (San Francisco)?
May 28, 2010
in
Earthquake Questions
I understand why so many people die in the Haiti earthquake but why were they so many few deaths compared to Haiti in the Loma Prieta earthquake which also was a similar magnitude (6.9)? What made the Loma Prieta earthquake kill only around 100 people? Was it the buildings, roads, speed of rescue? Any answers would be great.
Thank you very much, building standards. Great, thank you. More answers are welcome, the more the better.
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3 comments
Johnny Rotten on May 28, 2010 at 5:32 pm
It,s because we have building laws in S.F. that has standards for buildings…New and existing…Haiti does not…
I love my Spoo on May 28, 2010 at 5:32 pm
It was the construction of the buildings. Most of the buildings are made out of concrete slabs, = lots of injured/dead people from the weight of it.
I really hope they are considering better ways to build when they start making houses.
Geology Rock Star on May 28, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Lack of infrastructure and poor building codes are what killed all those people in Haiti. California has some of the most stringent building codes in the world, this is to save as many lives as possible because it is in an earthquake prone are. Also California has an excellent infrastructure in place to deal with natural disasters. As soon as something goes wrong, emergency crews are in place doing what needs to be done. Haiti with it’s poor and corrupt government is not capable of doing that. Also, Haiti hasn’t had a major earthquake in almost 200 years (before the recent one of course) So Haitians do not know what do when an earthquake strike. Californians are taught in school what to do when an earthquake strikes, and many Californians have lived through a major quake and have personal experience dealing with them.