Are YOU going to be a LAST RESPONDER?

Posted Wed, 2010-07-14 12:48 by Abril Novoa

Do we remember the day? Do we remember the images and the videos? Do we remember where we were exactly when it happened? Did we help? Was that enough to help and rebuild a country? Do we remember the catastrophic details?

The 2010 Haiti earthquake shook the entire nation with its magnitude of 7.0 Mw and an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately 25 km (16 miles) west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, January 12, 2010. By January 24th, at least 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater had been recorded. An estimated three million people were affected by the quake; the Haitian Government reported that an estimated 230,000 people had died, 300,000 had been injured and 1,000,000 made homeless. They also estimated that 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged.

Reconstruction does not happen overnight. We all know that. Natural disasters occur; earthquakes destroy the built environment and we are left to react to them; to pick up the pieces and plan for the future. Haiti needs us now more than ever to have their schools built and their homes reconstructed.

Haiti earthquake shook the country over six months ago. It made the headline news all over the world for a few weeks; we all paid attention and watched the aftermath; funds were raised and plans were hatched to help and reconstruct more sustainable structures. Now, it’s time for the last responders to continue their efforts. In the plans by Architecture for Humanity, six months was noted to be the transition point from recovery to reconstruction. This is the time for the last responders; the motley crew of hundreds of building and water/sanitation professionals who work for years after the last major news outlet has left.