USGS Installing Seismometers in Haiti

The Hotel Montana, shown here, is a portable seismometer site. USGS Seismologists Doug Given, Susan Hough, Mark Meremonte, and J. Zebulon Maharrey traveled to Haiti shortly after the magnitude-7 earthquake struck Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12, 2010 to install seismometers. Seismometers monitor the earth's movement and can detect and measure aftershocks. The installation of seismometers helps USGS scientists understand why some parts of Port-au-Prince experienced more damage from the earthquake than others and which areas are most vulnerable for future earthquakes.