Report from Haiti on Floods
HAVANA TIMES, Nov. 6 — A quick evaluation of people affected by floods related to Hurricane Tomas was posted today by the Haitilibre.com website. Here is their report.
AT LEAST 35,000 PEOPLE AFFECTED BY FLOODS IN HAITI
The provisional and fast evaluation of the situation by Save the Children teams, estimates at 35.000 the number of people affected by the floods, caused by the passage of the Tomas hurricane. The assessment of material damage in the camps is ongoing. Recall that Leogane, [epicenter of the earthquake of January] about 90,000 people still live in tents or makeshift shelters.
The streets are now rivers in downtown and east of Léogâne (the areas most affected). The huge volume of moving water, which is likely to wash sewage and rubbish around the town, will make conditions even more conducive to the deadly cholera bacteria.
Fortunately, most of the temporary camps in the city are “dry”, because located on higher ground. The United Nations encourages families in flooded areas to leave the tents and took refuge in schools or temporary shelters nearby.
Gary Shaye, director of Save the Children in Haiti, said: “With this sort of crisis, young children and newborn babies are always the most vulnerable”. The NGO is ready to resume distribution of essential supplies, delivering health care and resuming nutrition and breastfeeding programmes. “We will be ramping up our emergency response in Leogane, distributing clean water and WFP food to those displaced, repairing toilets and water points, and providing essential healthcare”.