High in the hills above the north-western city of Gonaives, farmers
are hard at work preparing for the next hurricane season.

Closer to the city, a purpose built hurricane shelter has been
built to accommodate families living in low-lying areas. Extra
stories have been added to Gonaïves's schools so that
vulnerable members of the population can be brought to safety. A
bridge has been built to enable people to escape a vulnerable flood
plain.

Twice in the space of four years, hurricanes have devastated
this city. But the deaths of thousands of people in two calamitous
storms (Tropical Storm Jeanne in 2004 and Tropical Storm Hanna in
2008) were caused, not by hundred-mile-an-hour winds, but by the
raging floods that inundated the city in the wake of each tropical
storm. 

Torrents of water came spilling off the mountains, sweeping
topsoil off fields, carving deep ravines and carrying countless of
tons of mud and rock down valleys onto the helpless city below.

Mercius Paul paused from wielding his machete against a stubborn
weed, to say: “I have seen many of my peers leaving this area
in search of a better life, in the Dominican Republic, or
Port-au-Prince, because they couldn't farm their lands. Today, as a
result of this soil conservation project, many are coming back.
Among my relatives alone, 50 people have returned to the
area.  I hope this project will continue throughout this area
and even further to share the knowledge.”

With the 2010 hurricane season well underway, Gonaïves has
barely dug itself out of the mountains of mud and dust left behind
by Hanna. The waters were 7 meters deep in some parts of the city
and when they receded, residents found that entire city blocks were
in a terrible state. 

Much of the 2.5 million cubic metres of mud and debris left
behind has now been removed, but the roads are rutted and the
canals blocked with stagnant water and malarial mosquitoes.

IOM has been training and employing 175 men and women in the
ancient skill of terracing as part of a US Agency for International
Development (USAID) funded Programme de Revitalisation et de
Promotion de l'Entente et de la Paix (PREPEP) project for rural
employment creation.

Now stony fields are being turned into productive plots of land,
upon which to grow peanuts and coffee. In another project, forests
have replanted with such success that farmers are preparing to grow
coffee and cocoa in the shade.

With engineers and agronomists managed by IOM and labour
provided by hundreds of local men and women, fast progress is being
made in terracing the hillsides and slowing the headlong rush of
water down the valleys.

Before last January's earthquake, the fecund Artibonite Valley
was home to some 30,000 people. After the quake, survivors quickly
decamped to Gonaives.  Today some 40,000 are still being
looked after by host families where the welcome is now wearing
thin. The traditional route of migration to the capital
Port-au-Prince has been disrupted by the earthquake and many have
sought livelihoods and safety by crossing illegally to the
Dominican Republic.

Along with the intricate system of terraces and irrigation
canals, 4.8 miles of hard top roads have been built. IOM has also
completed the first purpose built hurricane shelter in the country
while reinforcing 26 schools by either relocating them out of the
flood plain or building second floors that double up as hurricane
shelters.

Edner Cesaire, an agronomist with the IOM soil conservation
project reached down to feel the rich black soil, which the
overnight rains had just deposited on a corner of a field.
“It's black gold,” he said as the soil crumbled through
his fingers.

In preparation for the hurricane season, IOM is currently
pre-positioning stocks for 20,000 families in Port-au-Prince,
Gonaïves, Jacmel and Les Cayes. Prepositioned items include
jerry cans, hygiene kits, and kitchen sets.

For more information, please contact:

Leonard Doyle

Media and Communications Officer

IOM Haiti

Tel: + 509 370 25066

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