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21 October: hurricane in Sud and Sud-Est départements. 2,000 people perished. 1946. Earthquake in the northeast Dominican Republic accompanied by a tsunami in the region of Nagua. Haiti was also affected. 1952. 27 October: earthquake at Anse-à-Veau in Grand'Anse killed 6 and rendered thousands homeless.
5000+ dead, 2000+ injured, 2000+ kidnapped. since 1 January 2023 [11] [12] 360,000+ displaced as of 19 March 2024 [13] Protests began in cities throughout Haiti on 7 July 2018 in response to increased fuel prices. Over time, these protests evolved into demands for the resignation of Jovenel Moïse, the then- president of Haiti.
- 7 July 2018 – present
- Haiti
- 187 protesters, 44 police officers, 2 journalists
- Overview
- Climate of Haiti
- Plant and animal life
- Ethnic groups and languages
- Religion
- Settlement patterns
- Demographic trends
- Economy
Haiti has a warm, humid tropical climate characterized by diurnal temperature variations that are greater than the annual variations; temperatures are modified by elevation. Average temperatures range from the high 70s F (about 25 °C) in January and February to the mid-80s F (about 30 °C) in July and August. The village of Kenscoff, at some 4,700 feet (1,430 metres), has an average temperature of about 60 °F (16 °C), whereas Port-au-Prince, at sea level, has an average of 79 °F (26 °C). In winter, frost can occur at high elevations.
Haiti is located on the leeward side of the island, which means that the influence of humid trade winds is not as great as in the Dominican Republic. The more humid districts are found on the northern and eastern slopes of the mountains. Some portions of the island receive less than 28 inches (700 mm) of rainfall per year. The northwestern peninsula and Gonâve Island are particularly dry. Some regions have two rainy seasons, lasting from April to June and from August to October, whereas other regions experience rainfall from May to November. Annual variations of precipitation can cause droughts, widespread crop failures, and famine.
Haiti has a warm, humid tropical climate characterized by diurnal temperature variations that are greater than the annual variations; temperatures are modified by elevation. Average temperatures range from the high 70s F (about 25 °C) in January and February to the mid-80s F (about 30 °C) in July and August. The village of Kenscoff, at some 4,700 feet (1,430 metres), has an average temperature of about 60 °F (16 °C), whereas Port-au-Prince, at sea level, has an average of 79 °F (26 °C). In winter, frost can occur at high elevations.
Haiti is located on the leeward side of the island, which means that the influence of humid trade winds is not as great as in the Dominican Republic. The more humid districts are found on the northern and eastern slopes of the mountains. Some portions of the island receive less than 28 inches (700 mm) of rainfall per year. The northwestern peninsula and Gonâve Island are particularly dry. Some regions have two rainy seasons, lasting from April to June and from August to October, whereas other regions experience rainfall from May to November. Annual variations of precipitation can cause droughts, widespread crop failures, and famine.
From the 17th to the 19th century, much of the natural vegetation was destroyed through clearing for agriculture, grazing, and logging. Deforestation accelerated during the 20th century as population increased, and the forests that once covered the country have been reduced to a tiny proportion of the total land area. Patches of virgin forest remain in the Massif de la Selle, which includes tall pines, and in the Massif de la Hotte, where an evergreen forest with giant tree ferns and orchids stands on the slopes of Macaya Peak. Bayahondes (a type of mesquite), cacti, and acacias form thorny woods on the dry plains. The mangrove swamps on the coast have also declined rapidly, as their trees have been overexploited for firewood and for the production of charcoal.
With the retreat of natural vegetation, wildlife has lost its habitat and shelter. Wild boars, guinea fowls, and wild ducks are no longer present, but caimans still inhabit rivers of the southern peninsula, and some flamingos are found on Gonâve Island, where they are often hunted. Little has been done to conserve Haiti’s flora and fauna, and few national or regional parks have been established. The lack of conservation measures has been particularly damaging for coral formations and the animal life associated with them.
Nearly all of Haiti’s population are of African origin (termed blacks). A small minority of people of mixed European and African descent (called mulattoes) constitute a wealthier elite and account for most of the remainder. There is also a small number of people of European descent. Haiti has differentiated itself ethnically, linguistically, and culturally from other Caribbean and Latin American countries, notably the Spanish-speaking and the English-speaking countries of the region.
Haitian Creole (Kweyol, or Kreyol) and French are the official languages. Creole is normally used in daily life, and French—the second language of perhaps one-tenth of the people—is used in more formal circumstances. However, written Creole is not widely accepted, because the school system retains French as the main language of instruction. Most of the vocabulary of Haitian Creole is derived from French, but in its syntax it is similar to the Creole languages of the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean.
Haiti has no official religion, and the constitution allows for religious freedom. More than half of the population practices Roman Catholicism, the dominant sect of Christianity, and approximately one-fourth is Protestant or independent Christian. Liberation theology continues to have some influence in religious life, notably in the shantytown are...
Haiti is densely populated, particularly on the plains, although cultivated plots and settlements are also found on the hills and steep mountains. Some two-fifths of the people live in rural areas, primarily as subsistence farmers or agricultural labourers. Rural population densities are high, which places a strain on the environment and on the well-being of the people. The population is still increasing in the countryside, despite growing migration to the cities. Most farms are very small and are worked by their owners. Rural bourgs (market towns) typically include a Roman Catholic church, police barracks, a magisterial court, and a general store, all surrounding a central square.
Real urban life is limited to the capital and to five or six large towns. Port-au-Prince—whose metropolitan area grew to include more than 10 times the population of the second city, Cap-Haïtien—was founded in 1749; it became the colonial capital in 1770 because its central location was believed to be more suitable for future development, defense, and commerce than the position of Cap-Français (later Cap-Haïtien) on the north coast. The city retained few buildings from the colonial period and the early 19th century, however, because of fires and war damage. On January 12, 2010, a magnitude-7.0 earthquake shook Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area, causing catastrophic death and injury, extensive population displacement, and severe damage to property and infrastructure.
Wooden “gingerbread-style” houses, most now fallen into disrepair, remain a testimony to Victorian influences in the once-fashionable districts of Bois-Verna and Turgeau. Pétionville, a middle-class suburb in the hills to the west, is now part of the metropolitan area, as are the cities of Carrefour and Delmas. The vast majority of Port-au-Prince residents live on meagre incomes, and shantytowns surround the city. The largest shantytown in the capital is Cité Soleil; situated on swampland near the seafront and vulnerable to flooding, Cité Soleil is home to hundreds of thousands of people.
Cap-Haïtien, the original capital of the colony, was founded in 1670. Its neat gridiron street plan encompasses small blocks of old-fashioned houses with courtyards. The city also has large numbers of impoverished or homeless people, but its pace of life is much slower than that of Port-au-Prince. The other major towns are Carrefour and Delmas (within the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area), Gonaïves, Les Cayes, and Jacmel.
Haiti’s population grew dramatically after 1900. Life expectancy, however, has been among the lowest in the world. The rates of birth and infant mortality are high, and about one-third of the population is under 15 years of age.
Every year tens of thousands of Haitians attempt to improve their lots by migrating to other countries, notably Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Hundreds of thousands of Haitians live in the Dominican Republic, many of them illegally and under semiclandestine conditions. Dominican government programs allow temporary migrants for agricultural work, primarily bracero (cane-cutting) labour and menial jobs. Many Haitians have also migrated to the United States, Canada, and elsewhere. Since the 1970s, large numbers of Haitians have attempted to enter the United States each year in small and often dangerous boats; the phenomenon decreased with the end of the military regime in 1994 but continued sporadically, particularly during times of political crisis. The U.S. Coast Guard routinely has intercepted such “boat people” and returned them to Haiti; many others were thought to have drowned en route to Florida, which is more than 560 miles (900 km) northwest of Haiti. Exile communities have also been established in The Bahamas, Guadeloupe, and Saint-Martin.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere by many measures. Some four-fifths of its population lives in absolute poverty, and as much as three-fifths of the population is unemployed or underemployed. Haiti’s limited resource base has been depleted, first through intensive colonial exploitation and later through unplanned development and corruption. A few multinational corporations are active in the country.
Agriculture dominates the economy, but the domestic food supply has not kept pace with demand. As much as one-fifth of the food consumed in Haiti is imported or, sometimes, smuggled from the Dominican Republic or the United States; the imports have lowered overall food prices in Haiti, thereby further impoverishing the nation’s struggling farmers and compelling more people to migrate to urban areas.
Climate - Haiti. The climate of Haiti is tropical, hot throughout the year, with a less hot period from November to March, when the trade winds from the northeast prevail, and a muggy period from May to October, when the heat becomes unpleasant, though along the coasts it is tempered by the breeze. Temperatures are a bit higher in inland plains ...
Climate Change Knowledge Portal. This page presents a high-level insight into extreme events and how extreme events differ from mean climate. Extremes are often related to different physical processes than those that govern long-term means. While an average change in precipitation is primarily due to circulation changes, extremes are much more ...
Jun 19, 2018 · Prior to 2008. Haiti's bad hurricane history only goes back into the mid-1980s, when deforestation of the country began. In 2004 and 1994, the early stages of Jeanne and Gordon, before they were ...
