system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Eli5: Why do earthquakes devastate Haiti but not the Dominican Republic?

The two countries share an island, and neither is that big. Why do we hear about earthquakes in Haiti causing massive damages and loss of life, but almost nothing about the DR?
gpt
1) Haiti has a higher population density. Both countries have about 11 million people, *but* the Dominican Republic occupies a larger part of the island and the population is spread out over a wider area (for the Dominican Republic the density is about 220 people per square kilometer while for Haiti the density nearly 415 people per square kilometer). That means that you have more vulnerable people crammed in a smaller area.

2) Haiti is a poorer country and cannot afford to build sturdier structures to withstand quakes. 

3) The main faultline that triggers a lot of earthquakes in the area happens to run across the southern part of Hispaniola... *right through* Port-au-Prince where nearly 2.6 million people live. So the DR might experience the initial shock and aftershocks but those are not going to be as severe as what Haiti experiences.