Scientists Hurry to Examine Devastating Haiti Quake

In the wake of the devastating earthquake that crippled Haiti earlier this week, scientists are eager to understand what happened and are trying to predict if it could potentially happen again. The destruction to Haiti has been extraordinary. Due to poor building construction and over population, a 7.0 earthquake, which is not massive by seismic standards, caused a major catastrophe leaving tens of thousands dead and many more injured and homeless.

“The question we are trying to address right now is if there could be other faults nearby or perhaps other portions of the fault to the east or west that could go,” says Eric Calais, a geophysicist at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., who has used GPS stations to monitor the area since 2003.

Scientists are bracing for what might happen next. “Our folks and others are acquiring all the imagery they can in order to examine possible landslide-dammed drainages that could create subsequent flash flood hazard, identify surface rupture and look for the extent of … ground failure,” says David Applegate, senior science adviser for natural hazards with the U.S. Geological Survey.

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