Published Mon, Apr 01, 19.
Written by Mary Ka Powers.

Many of our sponsors have asked about Jacmel's History.  Did you know the town was founded by the "Compagnie de Saint-Domingue" in 1698 as the capital of the southeastern part of the French colony Saint-Domingue?

On 12 January 2010, Haiti experienced a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that caused heavy damage and casualties in Jacmel. The first temblor rocked the city at 4:40 pm, but the later temblor at 5:37 pm stopped the cathedral's clock. A Jacmel radio station estimated that at least 5000 were dead from the quake itself, although mayor Zennie Edwin later reported that the figure was closer to 300–500 deaths and 4,000 injured. About 70 per cent of the homes were damaged, with most of the heavier damage being in the poorer neighbourhoods. The town hall was so severely damaged that it had to be demolished. A small tsunami hit Jacmel Bay, with the ocean receding, leaving fish high and dry on the seabed, and rushing back in, four times.