HAITI, February 4th, 2010.—Announcements of new telluric movements and of higher intensity on the Richter scale in Haiti have interrupted the return to normality which was taking place in that Caribbean island, and has alarmed the population of Port-au-Prince. Citizens who had began to return to their masonry houses—20 days after the earthquake—moved back in masses to parks and soccer fields, etc on Tuesday night, and slept outdoors. On January 12, the earthquake epicenter in Haiti was—according to the Seismographic Institute of the United States—some ten kilometers deep and three kilometers from the Herniquillo fault. Port-au-Prince is only 15 kilometers away from the earthquake epicenter that is why it was so intensly destructive and caused terrible consequences. The subsequent aftershocks, frequently registered in Port-au-Prince and its surroundings— with intensity ranging from 4.4 to 5.9 degrees, and which even increased to 6.1 on the Richter scale on January 20— have kept the population really uneasy, so they are living in the squares, parks or streets, while an increasing number of them have moved to other departments in Haiti. (Cubaminrex- Granma- ACN) |