Whether or not Haiti has yet fully recovered is a matter of debate, but the effects of the earthquake were palpable for the next decade. A million people on the island lived in tents, and a cholera epidemic that began in October claimed over 3,300 more lives. The situation was still classified as an emergency six months after the earthquake. Though the humanitarian response was immediate and overwhelming, Haiti's crippled infrastructure made the delivery of aid difficult. The 'Hope for Haiti' telethon on January 22nd broke records by raising $58 million in one day. Foreign air forces, including those of the United States and Great Britain, airlifted survivors to hospital ships off the coast, and some supplies were dropped to the island by parachute. Port-au-Prince's airport operated around the clock but could not accommodate all the arrivals. The Cascadia Subduction Zone has not produced an earthquake since 1700 and is.

In both cases, the perception of those involved with. Some decades later, the San Fernando earthquake affected the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles with heavy damage to several hospitals. Nations from every continent contributed money, supplies, and manpower. There have been 41 earthquakes in the last 10,000 years within this fault. In 1933, the Long Beach earthquake occurred in a populated area and damaged or destroyed many public school buildings in Long Beach and Los Angeles. The Dominican Republic and Dominican Red Cross responded immediately with emergency supplies and airlifts to Dominican hospitals.

News and images of the quake, including photos of the heavily-damaged National Palace, quickly activated a massive humanitarian response. Something approaching 1 million people were displaced. Some estimates put the number of deaths around 40-50,000, while the Haitian government estimated that over 316,000 died, but all authorities acknowledge that the death toll is impossible to truly count. The human toll was horrific and remains incalculable.

Earthquake timelime in years