2011 Photo Contest, General News, 1st prize

Earthquake in Haiti

Photographer

Olivier Laban-Mattei

Contrasto

19 January, 2010

A family, trying to leave the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince following a massive earthquake, prepare to board a boat in the city’s ruined port. 

On 12 January 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, causing thousands of residents to flee the capital Port-au-Prince. They said they were tired of sleeping in the streets, and afraid of aftershocks and being robbed. Haiti has been hit by a number of natural disasters in recent years, including Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and a magnitude 7.2 earthquake in August 2021.

About the photographer

Olivier Laban-Mattei

French photojournalist and Agence France Presse (AFP) Paris photo staff member, Olivier Laban-Mattei was born in 1977 and grew up in Paris, where he studied geography and sociolo...

Technical information

Shutter Speed
1/250 s
ISO
800
Camera
Leica M9

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