What sort of geological factors should be taken into consideration during the rebuilding process in Haiti?
Walter Mooney: There are a number of geological factors that we have to think about very carefully. For example, the safest places to rebuild are going to be near hard rock sites. Hard rock is stable and has less shaking during an earthquake. While the worst place to build will be those regions with soft sediments and a shallow water table. Both of these we can determine quite easily. Another geological factor is proximity to the fault zone. As you can imagine, the closer you are to an active fault, the stronger will be the ground shaking. So there are indeed several geological factors that are important to consider during reconstruction. Marisa Lubeck: What technologies or other services can the USGS offer Haiti to help earthquake response in the future should another significant earthquake strike in the area? Walter Mooney: There are a lot of services and technologies that USGS can offer. For example, we can help install a seismic monitoring system that will help provide notification
