The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a very strong earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010. On the scientific scale that measures the magnitude (or strength) of an earthquake, the quake scored a magnitude of 7.0 M. The center of the earthquake was near Léogâne, very close to Port-au-Prince, the capital and largest city of Haiti. It was only about west. The earthquake hit in the afternoon, at 16:53:10 local time (21:53:10 UTC). Haiti already was the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and was not able to take care of all the people that needed help.