Five years after devastating quake, Haiti is making progress

One of the world’s largest recorded disasters resulted in the deaths of more than 300,000 people, and has taken years to recover from, writes Dominic MacSorley

EARTHQUAKES in themselves rarely kill people — poorly constructed buildings do. On this day five years ago, homes, offices, and much of the general infrastructure in Haiti’s capital city crumpled like cardboard when the city was devastated by one of the world’s largest recorded natural disasters.

Earthquakes happen frequently, but what made this one different was its impact on a densely populated metropolis. Up to 300,000 people were killed, including a quarter of the country’s civil servants. A further 300,000 people were injured. All over the city, buildings collapsed, rendering 1.5m people homeless.