Abstract

January’s earthquake in Haiti was one of the most destructive in recent times in terms of concentration of building damage and human casualties. This makes it an event of vital importance to study, but also gave rise to formidable difficulties in terms of organising and executing a field mission. After much debate and preparation, a 3 person team mobilised just after Easter for six full days in the field. Team member Dr Saito has played a central role in the pivotal use of aerial imagery in responding to this earthquake, and validation of this method by field observations was the principal focus of the EEFIT team. However, important observations were also made on geotechnical aspects, including liquefaction, on the distribution of damage (which varied between intense and relatively light within quite small distances) and on building performance. The team’s initial findings will be presented, and plans to study further more general aspects of earthquake preparedness and response will be discussed.