Three full days of small boat operations allowed Marcy, Sean, Matt, and Hal to capture the devastating effects within a coastal community on the Bay of Petit Goave. In addition to the information they gathered from surveying the seafloor, the direct effects from the earthquake were apparent on land. The coastal tent communities, obviously prepared for those who lost their homes, were surrounded by rubble, situated at an angle, and with evidence of flooding. We are unsure whether the angle is due to tectonic uplift or subsidence of the land, but with further analysis of our geophysical data we should be able to answer these questions in the near future.
This tent community is situated in an area where two rivers converge, leading us to believe it was a site of significant flooding. This was apparent by the submerged trees and water lines on remaining structures. The small boat group witnessed a helicopter landing on this site with a mass of yellow-shirt (likely UN) workers arriving to aid the Haitians. It was at a fortunate time since many of the people thought that our group were aid workers and were requesting assistance and food. The island as shown in the pictures below was also like affected by either uplift or subsidence, as it is tilted as well. The small boat captured a great shot of the Endeavor recovering the CHIRP as they were returning to the boat.
One of our newest goals is to do some surveying in an area where rebuilding of Port -au-Prince is proposed. We are led to believe there is high earthquake risk there as well and would hopefully prevent another disaster if this is true.
