Katz was the only full-time American correspondent in Haiti when the 2010 Haiti earthquake struck on January 12 , 2010 . Katz , then 29 , was on the second floor of his rented house in the Pétion-Ville neighborhood when the swaying started at approximately 4:45 p.m . He rushed outside barefoot as his house collapsed , scrambling to find a phone to report the news . He borrowed a Blackberry on the street , and in doing so was the first to report the earthquake , sending out an alert that hit the wire at the same time as the U.S. Geological Survey 's initial report of the quake . In an unusual move for a wire service , AP ran Katz 's first-person account of surviving the quake the next day . In the months after the earthquake , Katz stayed in Haiti to report on the country 's recovery process , and issues with the delivery of foreign aid , specifically from the U.S
2010 Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
Jonathan M. Katz