Haiti Earthquake Maps From USGS Show Severity of Quake
Haiti experienced an earthquake of 7.0 at 4:35pm local time and maps released by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) show the epicenter of the earthquake and the severity of the shaking.
In one of the maps, it shows that the cities of Carrefour, Petit Goave, Leogane, Grand Goave and Gressier all experienced violent shaking with lots of structural damage. In Miragoane and Port-au-Prince the shaking was severe with heavy damage sustained.
In this Google Map it shows the exact location of the epicenter of the quake and the proximity to nearby cities.
This region of the world is the boundary region between the Caribbean plate and the North American plate. The USGS definied this earthquake as as left-lateral strike slip on the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault system.
Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though some resistant structures exist.