Before and after: Revisiting Haiti 5 years after the quake

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- It's been five years since the ground shook violently in and around the overcrowded capital of Haiti, the Western Hemisphere's poorest country, raising a cloud of dust over the smashed city and outlying towns.

The devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck at 4:53 p.m. Jan. 12, 2010, killing some 316,000 people, according to Haiti's estimates. Some 1.5 million Haitians were left homeless and the country's government was obliterated. Desolate streets were filled with rubble and the piercing sounds of anguish.

Here's a selection of photographs that show Haiti then and now. Archive photos are juxtaposed with images taken around the capital of Port-au-Prince in recent days.

Some places have seen more progress than others but one thing is clear: Haiti still has a far ways to go before it can say it has finally "built back better," the goal repeatedly stated by reconstruction officials.

This before and after photo combination shows a street devastated by the 7.0 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 20, 2010, and a photo taken five years later, on Jan. 10, 2015, of the same location. (AP / Gregory Bull, Dieu Nalio Chery)

This before and after photo combination shows a U.S. Navy helicopter taking off outside the partially collapsed National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 19, 2010, and a photo taken of the same location five years later on Jan. 10, 2015 where a lone Haitian flag hangs from a flagpole. (AP / Gregory Bull, Dieu Nalio Chery)

This before and after photo combination shows the Twins Market the day it collapsed during a 7.0 earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 12, 2010, and a photo taken from the same spot five years later, on Jan. 10, 2015, where only a metal fence stands. (AP / Cris Bierrenbach, Dieu Nalio Chery, File)

This before and after photo combination shows Marie La Jesula Joseph praying outside the Cathedral the day it was destroyed by a 7.0 earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 12, 2010, and a photo taken five years later on Jan. 10, 2105. (AP / Rodrigo Abd, Dieu Nalio Chery)

This before and after photo combination shows people selling goods outside the ruins of the old Iron Market, a month after it was destroyed by a powerful earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Feb. 15, 2010, and a photo taken almost five years later on Jan. 10, 2015, showing the market which was rebuilt by Haiti’s biggest employer, mobile phone company Digicel. (AP / Dario Lopez-Mills, Dieu Nalio Chery)