World | Haiti earthquake Haiti Quake Caused $14B in Damage: Study Natural disaster one of worst ever, compared to size of country By Kevin Spak Posted Feb 17, 2010 10:48 AM CST Copied US army soldiers, of the 82nd Airborne Division, patrol destroyed buildings in Port-au-Prince, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Haiti’s earthquake caused up to $14 billion in damages, or 117% of Haiti’s annual economic output, according to a new study from the Inter-American Development Bank. That makes it the most costly natural disaster since World War II, relative to the size and economy of the affected country. The figure is a preliminary one—an official estimate hits in a few weeks—but a veteran of the Hurricane Mitch rebuilding effort says it's probably “relatively conservative.” Rebuilding after Hurricane Mitch cost $6.3 billion, and that disaster killed only about 10,000 people. The Haiti quake killed roughly 250,000, a staggering per-capita loss of 25,000 out of every million Haitians; for comparison, 772 of every million Indonesians died in the 2004 tsunami. “This disaster, given the size of Haiti ... is the most devastating catastrophe that a country has experienced possibly ever,” said one of the study’s authors. Read These Next New Fox star, 23, misses first day after car troubles. White House rolls with Trump's 'daddy' nickname. Man accused of killing his daughters might be dead. Supreme Court ruling is a big blow to Planned Parenthood. Report an error