Contingency Planning On-Going as Hurricane Tomas Approaches Haiti
IOM is working with the Government of Haiti, the UN stabilization
mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and humanitarian agencies to plan a
response to Hurricane Tomas, which could strike the south of the
country this week. Hundreds of thousands of Haitians as well as
many of the 1.3 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who
have been homeless since the earthquake of 12 January 2010 would be
endangered by Hurricane Tomas.
The immediate needs include hundreds of thousands of tarpaulins
to replace damaged shelters, ropes, a greater number of water
purification tablets, oral rehydration salts as well as new and
replacement latrines, soap and blankets. There is also a need for
large numbers of buckets, flashlights and small windup radios to
keep the population informed.
"It's time for the international community to act with great
urgency so that we can respond to the basic humanitarian needs of
the vulnerable of Haiti," said Luca Dall'Oglio, Chief of Mission
for IOM Haiti.
Preparing for the worst case scenario, IOM's Camp Management
Operations (CMO) Unit has already moved 117 families living in
tents in an area of Corail Cesselesse camp, to temporary shelters
(t-shelters) built by the IOM Shelter Unit.
Links
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The transfer operation began early on Sunday morning and lasted
5 hours. It was coordinated with the American Refugee Committee
(ARC) Camp Management Agency in Corail and UN police (UNPOL). IOM
Shelter provided logistics while its Registration Units verified
that everyone transferred was also registered and that there was
proper follow-up action from departure to arrival in the
t-shelters.
After the movement, used tents were folded and stored and the
ground prepared for new t-shelters being built in the coming weeks.
This move concludes the relocation of a total of 228 families from
tents to t-shelters installed by IOM. During the first
movement carried out on 26 September, 111 vulnerable families were
transferred.
But for most IDPs and those living in communities vulnerable to
flooding, there are few good options. The projected trajectory of
Hurricane Tomas slices across Haiti and its landfall could see
winds of up to 100 miles per hour. These could be accompanied by
bands of torrential rain certain to shred the already fragile IDP
shelters. There are many camps at risk from landslides and flash
flooding if the storm strikes. For these camps the most prudent
course of action would be immediate evacuation.
Although most IDP camps are located in Haiti's capital
Port-au-Prince, a sizeable number are in the coastal cities of
Jacmel and Les Cayes, which are particularly vulnerable to tropical
storms.
Hurricane Tomas is coming hard on the heels of the cholera
epidemic which struck as Haiti was struggling to its feet 10 months
after the devastating earthquake. Cholera is still spreading south
towards the capital city Port-au-Prince while hurricane Tomas
pushes north towards Haiti's shores.
Even if Tomas only brushes Haiti, it may exacerbate the
epidemic, facilitating the spread of the disease into and
throughout metropolitan Port-au-Prince where a third of the
population remains homeless and in camps.
A still greater danger exists in Haiti's slums, like Cite
Soleil, where sanitation is almost non-existent. The water
supply is untreated and often located metres from open
latrines.
For more information contact:
Leonard Doyle
IOM Haiti Media and Communications
Tel: +509 3702 5066
E-mail:
"mailto:ldoyle@iom.int">ldoyle@iom.int