Before and after Haiti's earthquake

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Photo by Google/DigitalGlobe

The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti on Tuesday occurred along the strike-slip fault line that separates the Caribbean and North American tectonic plates, just 10 miles southwest of the capital city, Port-Au-Prince.
The quake, the largest in the region in more than 200 years, has been devastating, and throughout Port-Au-Prince buildings have collapsed, leaving people trapped and streets blocked with the ruins of fallen buildings.

Here is the same area as seen after the earthquake.

 

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This image from Google shows Champs de Mars plaza on an average day in 2008 before the devastating quake struck.

The normally calm Champs de Mars plaza in front of the the Presidential Palace has, like other public spaces throughout the city, become a place to gather and to seek refuge from the destruction caused by the earthquake.

 

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A neighborhood in Port-Au-Prince, before.

According to the Encyclopedia of Nations, "Haiti's infrastructure is primitive and poorly maintained, the result of decades of under-investment and environmental damage."
The poor infrastructure accelerated the damage caused by the quake, inflicting an unusually high toll for a quake with magnitude of 7.0.
Here, the same area is seen after the quake.

 

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A building near the city's center before the quake.

The same building after Tuesday's earthquake.

 

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The 30,000-person multipurpose stadium Stade Sylvio Cator, named for Haitian Olympic medalist long jumper Sylvio Cator, as seen before the quake in 2008.

The Stade Sylvio Cator was damaged in the earthquake, and its grounds have now become a safe haven for earthquake refugees.

 

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A corner building along Boulevard Jean-Jaques Dessalines before Tuesday's quake.

The same corner building after it collapsed, partially blocking the surrounding streets.

 

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The Presidential Palace prior to its collapse in the earthquake on Tuesday.

The Presidential Palace in the Champs de Mars plaza was nearly destroyed following Tuesday's quake.

 

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A block of buildings near the Presidential Palace before the earthquake.

The same block near the Presidential Palace collapsed into the street after the quake.

 

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