La sismologie citoyenne, un révélateur des crises en Haïti

On January 12, 2010, Haiti was hit by one of the largest seismic disasters known to date. This disaster is part of a long series of crises that affect Haitians, whether natural (hurricanes, earthquakes...) or related to political and economic factors (demonstrations, impoverishment...).Using a citizen seismology approach, a multidisciplinary team of seismo-sociologists used low-cost seismic sensors (Raspberry Shake, or RS) placed in the homes of Haitian citizens in order to complete the national seismic network and improve the risk perception, the level of preparedness and the scientific knowledge of the population. Through these objectives, it is in fact a paradigm shift that is aimed at, in which seismic networks are not only composed of sensors, but also of citizens and scientists who gather around these tools and their information.Presented here are the results of a qualitative survey of 15 RS seismometer hosts in Haiti. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to learn more about their experience, to assess their motivations, their difficulties and expectations in this citizen seismology process. It was found that RS hosts expressed pride and interest in being part of the network and actively contributing to risk reduction in their community. Some of them reported a form of empowerment in that they could compensate for the deficiency of the state, which they generally distrust. Thus, the combination of the seismologists' approach and the sociologists' analysis based on the citizen science approach allows us to understand issues that go beyond those solely related to earthquakes. We conclude that a citizen seismology approach is a very relevant way to understand the general environment of a crisis in order to better respond to it and to contribute to risk reduction: RS become indicators of major issues in Haitian society, beyond earthquakes.