Haiti earthquake: Jacmel, one week later

January 30th, 2010 by BBrand

At first, with the world focused on the damage and lives lost in Port-au-Prince, the people of Jacmel, Haiti had a hard time getting the word out that they needed help following last Tuesday’s earthquake. The word finally did get out and help finally did start arriving, but residents in this city of 40,000 are perhaps now wondering if the word didn’t get out too strongly. Thousands of refugees from other parts of Haiti are flooding into Jacmel. Some perhaps even from Port-au-Prince, since the road between the two cities is now open again.

How bad was Jacmel hit by the magnitude 7.0 quake? The UN’s initial estimate was that 3,000 people were killed in the earthquake, which also destroyed 1,785 homes, 87 businesses, 54 schools, 26 churches, and 24 hotels. Another 4,410 homes were partially destroyed, leaving 5,730 families homeless.

(AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)