The deadly earthquake that felled much of Haiti's capital last week
broke 250 years of strain -- a tension that had built slowly across
the nearby fault as it resisted the inexorable tug of drifting tectonic
plates.
Geologists who have studied the complicated fault system in the area
say more quakes could follow last week's disaster, which killed an
estimated 50,000 to 100,000, according to the Pan American Health
Organization. Often quakes such as this trigger others nearby in a
domino effect, the experts say. In coming years, other sections of
the same fault are likely to rupture, threatening not only Haiti but
also the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.
While scientists cannot predict earthquakes, they can make rough
forecasts and are in the process of creating a global database that
flags areas facing the gravest danger.
Though geologists have found Haiti a difficult country in which to
work, a handful of them had identified the danger there by carefully
mapping out the region's faults, studying historical records of earthquakes,
and using a high-precision Global Positioning System to measure the
opposing motion of the two tectonic plates that meet there.
Source: Cleveland.com
Very scary. Really not much you could do. Relocation would be a pain to even start to think about.