4 Spheres of the Environment

 

   An earthquake occurred near Port au Prince, Haiti in 2010 measuring to be 7.0 on the Richter scale killing over 230,000  people. It was the seventh most deadliest earthquake in the world to this date and when it happened the devastation was felt globally. The wreckage and destruction left from the Haiti earthquake was immense as 188,383 houses were badly damaged and 105,000 were completely destroyed as well as 4,000 schools damaged or destroyed leaving around 1.5 million Haitian people homeless. After the earthquake there were 19 million cubic meters of rubble and debris in Port au Prince. Over 600,000 people left their home area in Port au Prince and mostly stayed in refuge with host families. One and half million people lived in camps including over 100,000 people at critical risk from storms and flooding as well as 5,899 people died from an outbreak of cholera during this time. The entire country was left in ruins and poverty stricken relying on aid from surrounding countries for its survival.

 The earthquake involved the lithosphere as the tectonic plates moved creating friction and causing the earthquake resulting in ridges and breakage of the ground at the fault line and crust and mantle of the earths layers, as well as all of the rubble and fallen debris from the movement of the earthquake shaking the ground and buildings. The hydrosphere was involved as the earthquake affected the ocean surrounding the island of Haiti causing a tsunami and washing out shores and creating flooding as well as taking some lives of Haitian peoples. People, animals and trees and vegetation were all also involved, representing the biosphere as peoples homes were ruined and excessive water from flooding ruined plant life and buildings, people and anything really in its wake. The atmosphere was involved in the earthquake as chemicals and dust polluted the air from collapsed buildings which also harmed the biosphere as it was toxic and harmful for people and animals to breathe.