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A deeper look
at the horror in Haiti

Discovery's 'Haiti's Killer Quake: Why It Happened'

By Toni Fitzgerald
Feb 11, 2010

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It has been just over a month since the devastating earthquake hit Haiti, and the tiny island nation is still surveying the crippling damage it inflicted.

Authorities estimate that more than 230,000 people perished in the quake, putting it among the worst natural disasters ever, equal to the 2004 Asian tsunami. At this point, with doctors, government workers and volunteers still in triage mode, it could be months before the real rebuilding of the country begins.

That makes tonight's documentary airing at 9 p.m. on Discovery Channel extremely timely. "Haiti's Killer Quake: Why It Happened" examines the science behind the magnitude 7.0 quake, which hit on Jan. 12.

With 3D graphics and on-location footage of the post-quake disaster, the 60-minute film seeks to explain not only why it happened but also when and where the next hugely devastating earthquake could hit.

The show already aired in the UK, where it drew 1.02 million viewers on Channel 4 earlier this week. It should do slightly better than that tonight, based on Discovery's primetime average last week and the continued interest in Haiti's recovery.

Discovery averaged 1.23 million total viewers in primetime last month, according to Nielsen data, down 5 percent from January 2009. In adults 18-49, the network averaged 673,000, down 4 percent.

Americans have given more than $600 million toward Haiti relief, including more than $70 million raised via TV telethons.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	ABC	“Good Morning America” (N)	Disney star Selena Gomez performs.
8 p.m.	CBS	“Survivor” (R)	Season premiere. The series rolls out a “Heroes vs. Villains” version for its 20th edition.
8 p.m.	CW	“The Vampire Diaries” (D)	Jeremy and Anna meet to go to a party, but Anna has a specific reason for going.
9 p.m.	ABC	“Grey’s Anatomy” (D)	A restaurant’s roof collapses on Valentine’s Day.
9 p.m.	NBC	“The Office” (C)	Either Michael or Jim must step down as manager and return to being a salesman.
10 p.m.	Lifetime	“Project Runway” (R)	The designers compete to have their creation featured on the cover of a fashion magazine.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	NBC	“Today” (N)	Singer Michael Buble performs.
7:30 p.m.	NBC	“Winter Olympics” (S)	Coverage of the opening ceremony, along with ski jumping.
8 p.m.	ABC	“Spider-Man 2.1” (M)	DVD version of the sequel, with eight additional minutes.
8 p.m.	Nickelodeon	“iCarly” (K)	Carly feels indebted to Freddie after he saves her life.
9 p.m.	TNT	“NBA Basketball” (S)	The 11th annual Rookie Challenge between the NBA’s best first-year and second-year players.
9 p.m.	VH1	“Famous Crime Scene” (N)	Series premiere. Investigating the 1996 shooting of rapper Tupac Shakur.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13
Time	Network	Program	Description
2 p.m.	NBC	“Winter Olympics” (S)	Today it’s speed skating, ski jumping and biathlon.
3 p.m.	CBS	“PGA Golf” (S)	Third round coverage of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
8 p.m.	Fox	“Cops” (R)	Five cops in Florida go undercover to catch drug dealers.
8 p.m.	NBC	“Winter Olympics” (S)	Tonight it’s more speed skating and freestyle and alpine skiing.
9 p.m.	ESPN	“College Basketball” (S)	A big SEC conference game between Tennessee and Kentucky.
8:30 p.m.	TNT	“NBA All-Star Saturday Night” (S)	A variety events, including a skills challenge, a three-point shootout and a slam dunk contest.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14
Time	Network	Program	Description
Noon	Fox	“NASCAR Racing” (S)	The 52nd running of the Daytona 500.
1 p.m.	NBC	“Winter Olympics” (S)	This afternoon we have more speed skating, skiing, biathlon and luge.
3 p.m.	CBS	“PGA Golf” (S)	Final round of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, founded by Bing Crosby in 1937.
7 p.m.	NBC	“Winter Olympics” (S)	Tonight figure skating makes its debut.
8:30 p.m.	TNT	“NBA Basketball” (S)	The 59th annual All-Star game, from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
9 p.m.	Fox	“Family Guy” (C)	Chris and Stewie get lost in the woods, and later Chris develops a crush on a girl at school.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.