Tragedy often has a way of visiting those who can bear it the least. And on Jan 12, 2010, that is exactly what happened to Haiti, the poorest nation in the western hemisphere. At 4:53p.m. that day, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 hit a point just southwest of the capital, Port-au-Prince. In a few terrifying minutes, a vibrant city was devastated, and tens of thousands died. Immediately, the scale of the tragedy was apparent: a nation already so often on it’s knees had been knocked to the ground.
TIME’s Shaul Schwarz documents the humanitarian crisis caused by the catastrophe.
In the harrowing days after the Haiti earthquake, filmmakers Shaul Schwarz and Julie Platner witnessed families mourning loved ones and youths whose injuries meant tragic choices of life over limb.
Refugees from the earthquake take shelter in makeshift tents in a camp in Port-au-Prince. Hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless by the massive quake that hit Haiti on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010.Shaul Schwarz—Reportage by Getty Images for TIMEYoung men run through the rubble during a looting spree in Port-au-Prince's downtown business district.
Shaul Schwarz—Reportage by Getty Images for TIMEHaitians work to uncover bodies trapped in a collapsed building.
Shaul Schwarz—Reportage by Getty Images for TIMEA man's face is covered with debris from the quake.
Shaul Schwarz—Reportage by Getty Images for TIMEA security guard protects the wares of a fabric store during a looting spree.
Shaul Schwarz—Reportage by Getty Images for TIMEA man runs off with a box of goods in downtown Port-au-Prince.
Shaul Schwarz—Reportage by Getty Images for TIMEA man shot dead by police during a looting spree downtown lies on the ground.
Shaul Schwarz—Reportage by Getty Images for TIMEA man washes his face with water from a pool on the street.
Shaul Schwarz—Reportage by Getty Images for TIMEPeople wait in long lines for crackers and water in Port-au-Prince.
Shaul Schwarz—Reportage by Getty Images for TIMEHaitians wait to board buses leaving Port-au-Prince.
Shaul Schwarz—Reportage by Getty Images for TIMEA refugee holds an injured child in a tent city.
Shaul Schwarz—Reportage by Getty Images for TIMEInjured victims of the earthquake receive treatment at the Port-au-Prince general hospital.
Shaul Schwarz—Reportage by Getty Images for TIMEMen carry a coffin to a grave in an overflowing cemetery in Port-au-Prince
Shaul Schwarz—Reportage by Getty Images for TIME
