On January 12, 2010, an earthquake, 7.0 on the Richter Scale, hit the tiny country of Haiti in the Caribbean. The quake, felt as far away as Tampa, Florida and Caracas, Venezuela, was centered (epicenter) very close to Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. The last approximated seismic activity along the tectonic plates believed responsible for the quake was in the mid-1800's. There have been approximately 50 aftershocks, the largest measuring 5.9 on the Richter Scale occurring on January 20, 2010 with the epicenter 30 miles west-southwest of Port-au-Prince.
