Natural disasters in Haiti

On Jan. 12, Haiti was hit by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake. An estimated 230,000 people were killed, 300,000 were injured and 1 million lost their homes.

Haiti has seen its share of natural disasters and devastation in the past, as well, according to www.ayitigouvenans.org. Following are some of the natural disaster events Haiti has experienced during the past 260 years.

Oct. 18, 1751: An earthquake in Port-au-Prince destroyed the city.

May 7, 1842: An earthquake in Cap-Haitian and the northern region destroyed Cap-Haitian, Port-de-Paix, Gonaives and Fort Liberté.

Aug. 12, 1915: A hurricane on Haiti's southern peninsula devastated Jacmel and Jérémie.

Oct. 21, 1935: A hurricane in the southern and southeastern regions killed 2,000 people.

Oct. 3, 1963: Hurricane Flora killed nearly 5,000 people in the southern and western regions.

Aug. 24, 1964: Hurricane Cleo hit Haiti's southern coast, targeting Les Cayes and killing 192 people.

Sept. 29, 1966: Hurricane Ines caused devastation, reaching a wind speed of more than 170 mph.

Aug. 5, 1980: Hurricane Allen hit Haiti's southern coast at 270 mph, again targeting Les Cayes and killing about 200 people.

Oct. 23, 1986: The island of La Gonave flooded, killing 31 people and leaving 906 people homeless.

Feb. 23, 1989: Haiti was hit by heavy rain and flooding, affecting 4,945 families, destroying 1,527 homes and damaging 1,640 other homes.

Oct. 12-13, 1994: Hurricane Gordon caused flooding and left about 2,000 people dead and missing.

Sept. 23, 1998: Hurricane George led to 147 deaths, 34 serious injuries, 40 missing people and 167,500 homeless.

May 24-27, 2002: Tropical downpours left 31 people dead, 14 missing and more than 7,000 people lost all their belongings.

May 23-24, 2004: Torrential rain caused flooding and left 1,232 dead, 1,443 missing and 31,130 disaster victims. The disaster was so severe the government made Friday, May 28, a day of national mourning.

Sept. 18-19, 2004: Hurricane Jeanne led to 3,000 deaths, 2,620 wounded, 846 missing and 300,000 affected.

Aug. 26, 2008: Hurricane Gustav hit Haiti's southern peninsula, killing 77 people, affecting 15,000 families and destroying 3,000 homes.

This Web exclusive information is a supplement to A shining accomplishment.