Haitians are lining bodies along the streets of Port-au-Prince, where
thousands are feared dead after a massive earthquake destroyed
much of the capital.
The 7.0 magnitude quake that struck Tuesday was the most powerful
to hit the Caribbean nation in 200 years.
The temblor collapsed the presidential palace, ministries, homes, schools,
monuments and the city's largest hospital.
The International Red Cross says up to 3 million people have been affected.
What caused the earthquake?
The Haiti earthquake occurred at a fault that runs right through Haiti and
is situated along the boundary between the Caribbean and North American
plates, rocky slabs that cover the planet and fit together like a giant jigsaw
puzzle. These two plates constantly creep past one another, about 0.8
inches a year, with the Caribbean plate moving eastward with respect to
the North American slab.
Rather, they felt the release of energy from the Enriquillo-Plaintain Garden
fault system. "The two sides of the fault line moved past each other in an
east-west direction and that's what caused the energy release and the Haiti
earthquake.
