2010 Haiti earthquake

==Background==
The island of [[Hispaniola]], shared by Haiti and the [[Dominican Republic]], is [[seismology|seismically]] active and has [[List of earthquakes in Haiti|a history of destructive earthquakes]].  During Haiti's time as a French colony, earthquakes were recorded by French historian [[Médéric Louis Élie Moreau de Saint-Méry|Moreau de Saint-Méry]] (1750–1819). He described damage done by an earthquake in 1751, writing that "only one [[masonry]] building had not collapsed" in Port-au-Prince; he also wrote that the "whole city collapsed" in the [[1770 Port-au-Prince earthquake]]. [[Cap-Haïtien]], other towns in the north of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and the [[Sans-Souci Palace]] were destroyed during an [[1842 Cap-Haïtien earthquake|earthquake on 7 May 1842]].<ref name="Prepetit" /> A [[1946 Dominican Republic earthquake|magnitude 8.0 earthquake]] struck the Dominican Republic and shook Haiti on 4 August 1946, producing a [[tsunami]] that killed 1,790 people and injured many others.<ref name="msnbc13012010" />

Haiti is the poorest country in the [[Western Hemisphere]] and is ranked 149th of 182 countries on the [[Human Development Index]].<ref name="hdrstats" /> The Australian government's travel advisory site had previously expressed concerns that Haitian [[emergency services]] would be unable to cope in the event of a major disaster,<ref name="smartraveller" /> and the country is considered "economically vulnerable" by the [[Food and Agriculture Organization]].<ref name="FAOcast" /> Haiti is no stranger to natural disasters. In addition to earthquakes, it has been struck frequently by tropical cyclones, which have caused flooding and widespread damage. The most recent cyclones to hit the island before the earthquake were [[Tropical Storm Fay (2008)|Tropical Storm Fay]] and hurricanes [[Hurricane Gustav|Gustav]], [[Hurricane Hanna (2008)|Hanna]] and [[Hurricane Ike|Ike]], all in the summer of 2008, causing nearly 800 deaths.<ref name="Guard08112008" />