According to a study published online in Nature Geoscience, the earthquake that hit Haiti last January resulted in a significant uplift of the ground surface along Haiti's coastline and involved slip on multiple faults. This study suggests that because the earthquake did not involve slip near the surface of the earth, it did not release all of the strain that has built up on faults in the area over the past two centuries. This means that in the future, surface rupturing earthquakes are likely in the region. A group consisting of Gavin Hayes, a U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist, along with colleagues from USGS, California Institute of Technology, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and the University of Texas at Austin modeled the patterns of surface deformation and were able to assess which fault was responsible for the earthquake. Their results show that the earthquake may have involved a complex series of faults.
This means a lot! It's quite impressive that by modeling what happened in Haiti, the group found that this may have involved a complex series of faults. With this information, I'm sure they will try to find ways to prevent a hit like that of January. At least now they know that something like this can happen in the future again. I hope that the next time around Haiti will be more prepared and have plans for what to do.
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