Tropical storm Hanna is causing havoc in northern Haiti only days after the country was hit by Hurricane Gustav.
A tropical storm warning is in effect from Port au Prince to Haiti’s northern border with the Dominican Republic. Heavy rain and strong winds from the storm are currently affecting the Nord and Nord West regions, especially Artibonite.
A Red Cross assessment team flew over the affected area on 3 September and confirmed the severity of the situation, especially in the city of Gonaives, where water is three metres deep in some locations. Patients at the city’s flooded hospital have been moved to safety on the third floor of the building.
Rescue
The Haitian National Red Cross Society (HNRCS), which was already involved in the response to Gustav, is working with partners to help those affected. Volunteers are carrying out search and rescue activities in coordination with the Civil Defence.
“It is expected that five to six thousand people need to be immediately evacuated from the affected areas,” said Xavier Castellanos, deputy head of the Americas zone for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
A disaster management delegate from the IFRC’s Pan-American Disaster Response Unit has been in Port au Prince since 28 August and is supporting the relief activities.
Emergencies
HNRCS volunteers gave early warning information to communities and encouraged those at risk to move to safer ground as water levels rose. Red Cross Red Crescent personnel have been working since the onset of the emergencies, assisting in shelters and providing first aid.
The Red Cross has sent 500 family kits to Jacmel (Sud-Est) and 300 family kits to Les Cayes (Sud) while assessments are being carried out.
Analysts fear that Hanna may prove to be more devastating than 2004’s tropical storm Jeanne, which claimed 3,000 lives in Haiti. The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that as many as 300,000 people might be affected.
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Gonaives region, Haiti. A Red Cross Red Crescent Field Assessment Coordination Team (FACT) including members from the Partner Red Cross National Societies from Germany, Finland, Norway, United States and Switzerland has been alerted for deployment to Haiti. (p18180)
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| Aerial view of the city of Gonaives, Haiti. Hanna, the 8th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, affected Haiti on 2 September. (p18178) |
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| A man asks for help during floods outside Gonaives. (REUTERS/Stringer (HAITI)/courtesy www.alertnet.org) |
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