On January 12 , 2010 a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck just outside Port-au-Prince . The capital city and surrounding towns were completely destroyed and a million people were left homeless . 50,000 were reported to have died . On January 14 , the first Alight emergency response team members arrived in Port-au-Prince . They started planning the response , hiring local staff , and coordinating with the United Nations and other partners . In the following days and weeks additional staff with expertise in emergency response , logistics , health , water/sanitation , shelter , and protection arrived in Haiti . Alight distributed food to 2,200 people in the Delmas district of Port-au-Prince , 1,000 hygiene and kitchen kits in the Nazon district . On January 26 , Alight began managing settlement of 5,000 people in Terrain Acra district of Port-au-Prince , working with multiple relief agencies . In the next few months the camp size grew to 25,000 people . Of the 19 most crowded settlements ( of 300 total ) , Terrain Acra was the only one with an organization overseeing and coordinating relief activities
7.0-magnitude earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
Alight