Damage from landslides is common in Haiti. In Port-au-Prince, there is widespread destruction of nonductile concrete structures. Many rubble or unreinforced masonry walls failed. The E-in-plan Presidential Palace in Port-au-Prince still has much of the first floor intact, with windows unbroken, but there is total collapse above the first floor. There is very light reinforcing evident in failed columns near the entry. At the port, there is a collapsed pier and cranes, and several buildings are under water. Extensive lateral spreading and liquefaction is evident.
These and numerous other on-site observations on damage from Haiti’s magnitude 7 earthqauke are from Eduardo Fierro, a principal of forensic and seismic engineer Bertero Fierro Perry Engineers Inc., Van Nuys, Calif. Fierro is on the ground in Haiti surveying damage to bridges, industrial buildings, the port and more. His photos of structures with major and minor damage, along with his assessments, are available at http://www.eqclearinghouse.org/20100112-haiti/general-information/fierro-photos-part-2 (the Haiti Earthquake Clearinghouse). The Website is managed by the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute.