In PHOTOS: The tragedy called Haiti

Image: A woman raises her arms for products as people loot a destroyed shop in Port-au-Prince
Photographs: Carlos Barria/Reuters

It's been a year since a devastating earthquake hit Haiti, killing more than 200,000 residents and leaving more than two million homeless

The earthquake levelled the capital city, delivered a severe blow to still shaky Haitian economy and infrastructure, and impeded nation-building efforts in the country.

The catastrophe also led to a climate of political uncertainty, interrupting a period of relatively smooth progress towards legislative, presidential, and municipal elections previously scheduled to be held in February 2010.

More deaths occurred owing to floods and a subsequent cholera outbreak in the later half of 2010. With only 5 per cent of the rubble cleared till date, with crime rates blowing out of proportion and with the political mess around, Haiti the nation is today in shambles.

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The tragedy called Haiti

Image: Children cry as the crowd pushes during a food distribution in Cite Soleil, Port-au-Prince
Photographs: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

In PHOTOS: The tragedy called Haiti

Image: A woman reacts near destroyed buildings after the earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince
Photographs: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

The tragedy called Haiti

Image: A girl comforts her injured mother at a makeshift hospital in Port-au-Prince
Photographs: Jorge Silva/Reuters

The tragedy called Haiti

Image: Residents walk in a destroyed area
Photographs: Jorge Silva/Reuters

The tragedy called Haiti

Image: A dead victim is seen inside the boot of a car after the earthquake in Port-au-Prince
Photographs: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

The tragedy called Haiti

Image: A girl reaches out for goods thrown by looters from a destroyed store in downtown Port-au-Prince
Photographs: Jorge Silva/Reuters

The tragedy called Haiti

Image: A looter leaves a damaged building through a hole in a wall in downtown Port-au-Prince
Photographs: Carlos Barria/Reuters

The tragedy called Haiti

Image: A private security guard stands outside a burning store in downtown Port-au-Prince
Photographs: Carlos Barria/Reuters

The tragedy called Haiti

Image: A man smiles as he drives a damage vehicle on a busy street in Port-au-Prince
Photographs: Carlos Barria/Reuters

The tragedy called Haiti

Image: A patient is pictured on his bed at a hospital in Jacmel
Photographs: Marco Dormino/UN/MINUSTAH/Handout/Reuters

The tragedy called Haiti

Image: A boy looks at a bulldozer clear rubble from a destroyed church in Port-au-Prince
Photographs: Carlos Barria/Reuters

The tragedy called Haiti

Image: A youth loots products from a destroyed store in Port-au-Prince
Photographs: Carlos Barria/Reuters

The tragedy called Haiti

Image: An earthquake survivor washes his hands in a bucket, donated by Haiti's Red Cross to control infections, near a damaged helicopter in a provisional camp in downtown Port-au-Prince
Photographs: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

The tragedy called Haiti

Image: A looter holds a knife as he fights for products in Port-au-Prince
Photographs: Carlos Barria/Reuters

The tragedy called Haiti

Image: An aerial view of camps set up by earthquake survivors in Port-au-Prince
Photographs: St-Felix Evens/Reuters

The tragedy called Haiti

Image: Haitians throw ballots into the air after frustrated voters destroy electoral material during a protest in a voting centre in Port-au-Prince
Photographs: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

The tragedy called Haiti

Image: A Haitian with symptoms of cholera is transported in a wheelbarrow in the slums of Cite-Soleil in Port-au-Prince
Photographs: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

The tragedy called Haiti

Image: A man touches his baby born at an Israeli-run hospital in Port-au-Prince
Photographs: Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters

The tragedy called Haiti

Image: Orich Florestal (Left), 24 and Rosemond Altidon, 22, stand on the edge of their partially destroyed apartment of Port-au-Prince
Photographs: Allison Shelley/Reuters

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