Haiti remains in crisis after five years of devastating earthquake

Haiti commemorated on Monday the 5th anniversary of the devastating earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince in 2010, with thousands of people still living in camps considered at risk of natural disaster and amid an intense political crisis.

On Sunday, hundreds of protesters demanded the resignation of Haitian President Michelle Martelly, throwing stones at police officers who responded with tear gas and water jets near the National Palace.

The country is experiencing an intense political crisis resulting from the inability of its leaders to hold municipal and legislative elections, postponed for years by differences between the executive and legislative branches.

Currently, less than 80,000 people remain in camps for the displaced, according to data from the Office for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) of the European Commission, after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake occurred on January 12, 2010, which caused more than 200,000 deaths in Haiti and left 1.5 million displaced.

Haiti has also gone through great difficulties in recent years, including the cholera epidemic, which left  thousands of people dead.

According to information handled by ECHO, the September data indicated that 45,030 people lived in 35 fields considered at risk of natural disaster.