Tropical Storm Isaac Highlights Urgent Need to Empty Haiti Camps
IOM’s response to Tropical Storm Isaac, which hit Haiti this
weekend, saw a rapid and coordinated reaction, in which the most
vulnerable people in camps were evacuated well before the storm
struck the country.
Thousands of people were taken to safety by Haitian Civil
Protection (DPC) and IOM before and during the storm. People were
returned from evacuation shelters to camps as soon as the storm
passed over and provided with shelter materials, hygiene kits and
other aid where necessary.
The storm highlighted the urgent need to close the 575 camps
remaining since the 2010 earthquake and provide adequate shelter
for 390,000 people still living under tarps and in tents.
“The camps got lucky this time and dodged the
bullet,” said IOM Haiti Chief of Mission Luca
Dall’Oglio. “But they will not always be so lucky and
the international community needs to act now to close all the camps
by providing rental subsidies and housing solutions for those
living there. The social and financial costs of evacuating a camp
population every time there is a major storm can far outstrip the
cost of providing housing rental solutions.”
Links
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IOM Response to Tropical Storm Isaac
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"window.open('http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24X5v8UYSa4&feature=youtu.be', 'mywindow', 'location=1,status=1,scrollbars=1')">Isaac
– Getting Everyone Home Safely
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"window.open('http://www.flickr.com/photos/haitilense2010/collections/72157631261057832/', 'mywindow', 'location=1,status=1,scrollbars=1')">Tropical
Storm Isaac
The well-coordinated response to the first major storm of the
hurricane season signalled a new level of preparedness by the
authorities. It followed months of preparatory work by Haiti and
its international partners to build resilience into the civil
protection system. In many cases, it was well-trained camp
vigilance committees who ensured that the evacuation of vulnerable
people, distribution of aid and the returns went smoothly.
Storms have caused thousands of deaths in Haiti in the past and
strike with predictable ferocity. The capital Port-au-Prince was
saved this time when Isaac turned out to sea and away from the
city. Even so, eight people tragically died, according to the
authorities.
The huge depression brought heavy rain and winds in excess of 65
mph that destroyed thousands of tents and shelters in the
camps.
IOM teams assessed the damage to camps and responded to urgent
health and protection needs immediately. By yesterday (27/8) they
had helped 5,210 households.
The Emergency Shelter and the Camp Coordination Camp Management
(CCCM) Cluster coordinated the assessment and response in the
camps. The UN and humanitarian agencies on the ground worked
together to meet the most immediate needs of the affected
population.
A vast sensitization campaign using media, loudspeakers,
posters, SMS messaging and an emergency call centre also targeted
the population at risk. It warned camp residents of the approaching
storm and highlighted the location of emergency centres and
pre-positioned emergency supplies.
“The rapid response was a credit to the hard work of
preparedness and coordination which the State, through the DPC and
humanitarian actors, have been engaged in,” said
Dall’Oglio.
“While civil protection and preparedness will continue to
be a high priority for Haiti for the foreseeable future, we will
fall down on the job as humanitarians, if we do not urgently find
the necessary resources to close these camps quickly,” he
added.
IOM and other humanitarian actors have already helped 18,807
families to leave the camps by providing rental subsidies for 12
months. The programme has closed some 50 camps so far.
“We now need to target as many as possible of the
remaining 575 camps, especially those where people live in
dangerous and exposed conditions susceptible to storm
damage,” Dall’Oglio concluded.
For more information please contact
Leonard Doyle
IOM Haiti
Tel. +509.37025066
Email:
"mailto:ldoyle@iom.int">ldoyle@iom.int
For multi-media coverage of IOM Haiti during Tropical Storm
Isaac, please go to:
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"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24X5v8UYSa4&feature=youtu.be"
target=
"_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24X5v8UYSa4&feature=youtu.be
"http://www.flickr.com/photos/haitilense2010/collections/72157631261057832/"
target=
"_blank">http://www.flickr.com/photos/haitilense2010/collections/72157631261057832/