Haiti quake may have caused $14 billion in damage
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The main development bank for Latin America says the January 12 earthquake that ravaged Haiti’s capital might have caused nearly $14 billion in damage.
The preliminary study released on February 16 says the magnitude-7 earthquake could be the deadliest and costliest disaster on a list that dates back four decades.
Economists with the Inter-American Development Bank used figures including death-toll estimates of 200,000 to 250,000 to calculate that damage could be worth anywhere from $7.2 billion to $13.9 billion. That is more than the country’s gross domestic product, which the World Bank estimated at $6.95 billion.
The authors also warn that in past disasters, personal wealth remained 30 per cent lower 10 years after the events even with large amounts of international aid.
