Natural Disasters

In addition to foreign political and economic interference, Haiti has been affected by numerous natural disasters. Two major fault systems on the island have caused devastating earthquakes. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck near Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, killed an estimated 300,000 people in 2010. Like other countries in the region, Haiti is also frequently affected by hurricanes and deadly and damaging tropical storms. Areas with significant deforestation and soil erosion are particularly prone to severe flooding during these hurricanes and tropical storms. With climate change, there is evidence that these storms are becoming stronger and more intense. In 2021, as Haiti was recovering from Tropical Storm Grace, another major earthquake occurred, this time in the southwest part of the country.

Natural Disasters in Art

It is not surprising that these natural disasters feature prominently in the work of Haitian artists.Although much of media coverage focuses on the impacts on major cities, the effects in rural towns and villages are often more devastating. Several of the paintings in this portion of the exhibit focus on Gonaïves, a city in northern Haiti. Surrounded on three sides by mountains and hills, and the Caribbean Sea on the fourth, the area experienced deadly flooding and mudslides following torrential rainfalls in 2004 and 2008.