In 2010 an earthquake ripped through Haiti killing more than 200,000, making millions homeless. Speaking to Haitians now, they date everything from that day – “après le douze”, “avant le douze” meaning after or before the twelfth of January when the 7.0 magnitude quake shook itself out from near the capital Port au Prince.
Two years ago on January 12, as the late afternoon heat ebbed away, a catastrophic magnitude 7 earthquake hit the island of Hispaniola, devastating Haiti.