The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck Haiti on Tuesday occurred along the strike-slip fault line that separates the Caribbean and North American tectonic plates, just 10 miles southwest of the capital city, Port-Au-Prince.
The quake, the largest in the region in more than 200 years, has been devastating, and throughout Port-Au-Prince buildings have collapsed, leaving people trapped and streets blocked with the ruins of fallen buildings.
The normally calm Champs de Mars plaza in front of the the Presidential Palace has, like other public spaces throughout the city, become a place to gather and to seek refuge from the destruction caused by the earthquake.
According to the Encyclopedia of Nations, "Haiti's infrastructure is primitive and poorly maintained, the result of decades of under-investment and environmental damage."
The poor infrastructure accelerated the damage caused by the quake, inflicting an unusually high toll for a quake with magnitude of 7.0.
The 30,000-person multipurpose stadium Stade Sylvio Cator, named for Haitian Olympic medalist long jumper Sylvio Cator, as seen before the quake in 2008.
