08/14/2021 - Earthquake on Tiburon Peninsula, Haiti

Impact
Country Displaced Injured Dead Damaged Buildings Destroyed Buildings
Haiti 650000 12268 2207 119743 83045

Detailed damage statistics (damaged / destroyed)

Haiti 0 0 0 0 0 77006 / 52923 0 42737 / 30122

Source: Earthquake Impact Database

Affected Population
Event timeline - Haiti 2021

 

A severe earthquake with magnitude 7.2 has hit the western parts of Haiti on Saturday. This quake occurec on the western end of the rupture zone of the 2010 earthquake, which lead to more than 100,000 fatalities. As the most densely populated areas like Port-au-Prince are not directly affected this time, a similar impact is not expected. However, due to the extreme intensities in the rural and mountainous regions of Western Haiti, severe destruction and landslides are expected as well as a local tsunami on nearby coasts.

Pictures from Social Media show severe destruction in nearby towns like Jeremie and Les Cayes

Update 13:38 UTC
While towns in the western regions of Haiti suffered the worst losses, the capital Port-au-Prince, severely affected by the 2010 quake, seems to be mostly spared. Only minor damage has been reported from there so far. However, there are only few details known yet.

Update 13:54 UTC
Possible weak tsunami detected in Port-au-Prince without any threat resulting from it. However, the situation further west is unclear. 

Update 14:07 UTC
Casualties have been reported from several places so far including Cayes, Jeremie and Arniquet. In Cayes several houses collapsed with many people being injured or trapped. 

Update 14:12 UTC
While it will probably take many days or weeks to reveal the full extent of devastation following this earthquake, another potential threat might arrive early next week: Tropical Storm Grace has formed east of the Antilles and might hit Haiti on Tuesday. A further strenghtening into a Hurricane is possible. With intense rain and a probably ongoing aftershock activity, this might lead to dangerous landslides.

 

Update 14:30
Apparently, two hotels ("Petit Papa" and "Le Manguier") in Les Cayes collapsed with muiltiple people being killed and injured. 

 

Update 15:04 UTC
A possible tsunami has flooded roads in Les Cayes and other places. A video showing panicked people trying to flee from the water. However, another possible explanation might be a sinking of the landmass due to the earthquake. As Les Cayes is only a few meters above sea level, even a small sinking together with the ongoing rising tide would lead to such effects. Another possible reason for the flooding could be damaged water pipes. 

 

Update 15:47 UTC
Gabriel Fortuné, former senator in Haiti and mayor of Cayes, was killed in a hotel collapse due to the earthquake.

Update 16:45 UTC
We are estimating a median death toll of 8700 from this quake. 

 

Update 17:08 UTC
According to a civil protection statement, at least 29 casualties have been identified so far. 17 deaths were recorded in the department of Grand-Anse, 9 in the city of Cayes, and 3 in the department of Nippes. Earlier reports mentioned at least one casualty in Arniquet (Departement Sud) as well as multiple casualties in Beaumont and at least two in Jeremie (both Grand-Anse) without official confirmation. However, a much higher death toll is expected from these places.

Update 18:25 Uhr
The strongest aftershock so far has hit the region. According to preliminary locations by ALomax, this aftershock reached magnitude 5.7 and was located east of the town Baraderes, about 15 km north-west of the mainshock. Quakes of this size can cause significant damage in nearby places, especially to already weakened structures. More big aftershocks should be expected in the following weeks. 

Update 19:36 UTC
100 casualties and more than 1500 injuries were reported from the Departement Sud along the south coast, including the severely affected city Les Cayes. 

 

Update 19:54 UTC
Civil protection Haiti confirmed 227 casualties, 158 of them in Sud Departement. 

Rupture areas and possible seismic gap

Earthquake ruptures of the 2010 and 2021 earthquakes (indicated by aftershocks) in Haiti. A possible seismic gap between both rupture zones might be existing, big enough for another magnitude 7 earthquake in the near future. 

Update, August 17th, 2021

 The preliminary analysis in the image above was confirmed by a displacement analysis using Sentinel-1 data. The rupture took place mostly West of the epicentre. The rupture model showed a clear directionality. With more than 3m slip on a slightly dipping fault plane, uplift was observed in addition to the expected lateral movement. 

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Date Event Magnitude
01/28/2020 7:10 p.m. Earthquake offshore Cayman Islands, Cayman Islands Mw 7.7
01/07/2020 8:24 a.m. Earthquake offshore Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico Mw 6.4
Event Series
Date Event Magnitude
08/15/2021 3:20 a.m. Aftershock Earthquake on Tiburon Peninsula Mw 5.8
Event Characteristics
Latitude 18.43 °N
Longitude -73.44 °E
Date & Time Aug. 14, 2021, 12:29 p.m.
Magnitude Mw 7.2
Depth 10 km
Last Update 2021-08-14
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08/15/2021 9 a.m.

Preliminary aftershock outlook for August 15th, 2021

08/14/2021 1:26 p.m.

Social Media posts show severe destruction

Pictures and videos were shared on Twitter from affected towns. Several collapsed houses, buried people and other damages show the impact of the quake.

08/14/2021 1:20 p.m.

Massive earthquake hits Haiti - Severe impact expected

A severe earthquake with magnitude 7.2 has hit the western parts of Haiti on Saturday. This quake occurec on the western end of the rupture zone of the 2010 earthquake, which lead to more than 100,000 fatalities. As the most densely populated areas like Port-au-Prince are not directly affected this time, a similar impact is not expected. However, due to the extreme intensities in the rural and mountainous regions of Western Haiti, severe destruction and landslides are expected as well as a local tsunami on nearby coasts.