One month after the series of tropical storms and flooding that
caused extensive damage to the country's infrastructure and massive
displacement, particularly in the Artibonite region, emergency
relief operations established by IOM and the humanitarian community
are ongoing and IOM continues to provide non-food relief items to
thousands of families.

These include plastic sheeting for 13,950 families, hygiene kits
(25,000), kitchen kits (14,000), jerry cans (25,000), blankets and
sheets (27,000) and mosquito nets (30,000).

The displacement situation remains most acute in the city of
Gonaives and the surrounding areas, where until the past few days,
upwards of 50,000 individuals were sheltered in buildings such as
schools and churches in poor, unsanitary conditions.

With the resumption of the school year in most parts of the
country this week, efforts are underway to vacate displaced people
from schools. Many are making their way home, but several thousand
houses have been destroyed, leaving many permanently displaced or
forced to live with host families.

In support of government efforts to document the situation of
the displaced and assess damage, IOM is currently carrying out a
rapid shelter population survey in Gonaives, in close coordination
with the Department of Civil Protection.

This information will help the humanitarian community quantify
the number of long-term displaced and develop mid-term recovery
strategy. IOM is also at the forefront of clean-up and early
recovery activities, particularly in Gonaives, a large part of
which remains encased in mud.

Several months will be needed to rid the city of the debris. An
initial group of 10 schools serving as shelters is currently
targeted by IOM, as well as other road cleaning activities.

IOM emergency activities are carried out in close coordination
with its partner agencies the World Food Programme (WFP), the
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Pan-American Health
Organization (PAHO) and the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), as well as members of the NGO community including Oxfam,
Médecins Sans Frontières, Action Contre la Faim, CARE
and Caritas.

IOM has appealed for USD 13 million as part of the UN Flash
Appeal. To date, contributions have been received from the USAID
(Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance), the Swiss Agency for
Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA) and the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).

For more information, please contact:

Frislain Isidor

IOM Port au Prince

Tel: +509 2245 51 53

E-mail: "mailto:fisidor@iom.int">fisidor@iom.int