OCHA Situation Report No. 13
Caribbean: Hurricane Season
12 September 2008


Source:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

This situation report is based on information received from, the UN 
Emergency Technical Team (UNETT) in the affected countries, the Regional 
Office in Panama and the National Hurricane Centre. This situation report 
covers the effects of Hurricanes "Gustav", "Hanna" and "Ike" in the 
Caribbean.

HIGHLIGHTS

-In Haiti, some 170, 780 families have been affected and the main 
challenge continues to be distribution of relief items to the 
beneficiaries. Urgent support to the Flash Appeal is required.

-In Cuba, 4 deaths and extensive damage are reported.

-In Turks and Caicos, the state of emergency was declared in Grand Turk 
Island, South Caicos Island and Salt Cay.

SITUATION

1. Hurricane "Ike" is now a Category 2 hurricane and, after crossing over 
Cuba, is moving towards the north western Gulf of Mexico. "Ike" is 
expected to become a major hurricane prior to reaching the cost line and 
is likely to hit Texas and Louisiana in the United States.

2. The vulnerability throughout the Caribbean countries has increased 
dramatically with another 3 months left before the end of the hurricane 
season. The region has been affected since 15 August successively by 
tropical storm Fay, hurricanes "Gustav", "Hanna" and "Ike" that claimed in 
the Caribbean more than 345 lives so far.

HAITI

3. According to the Direction de la protection Civile, (DPC), 337 people 
have been confirmed dead and some 170,780 families have been affected as a 
result of tropical storms Fay, Hanna, Gustav and Ike. Some areas in the 
Southern Departments have still not been accessed. In Artibonite, the DPC 
considers Gonaives, Grand Saline and Desdunes as the priority areas.

4. Relief operations continue with efforts focusing on the most affected 
area of the city of Gonaives where an estimated 80,000 people remain in 
temporary shelters. Distribution of water remains the main challenge due 
to the lack of available transport capacity. Local authorities plan to set 
up strategic distribution points with the positioning of bladder tanks. 
The affected areas in the Southern department (Tiburon to Les Cayes) and 
the South Eastern department (Cotes de Fer, Cayes, Jacmel), which are 
still partly inaccessible, are a further priority. Members of the UNDAC 
team have been deployed to Les Cayes, to assess the situation in 
surrounding affected areas.

5. The main challenge continues to be distribution of relief items to 
beneficiaries. The capacity of implementing partners involved in the 
distribution of assistance is limited. Security concerns also hamper a 
swift distribution of assistance. Furthermore, the number of beneficiaries 
tends to increase exponentially, once aid is about to be delivered, posing 
a significant challenge to plan for an adequate amount of aid to be 
distributed.

6. During the past two days, coordination between cluster leads and with 
the government has been further strengthened. The Humanitarian Coordinator 
requested an analysis of each cluster lead on achievements, priorities and 
gaps in each area. Further meetings to ensure complementarity and 
coordination between clusters will be held on a regular basis. On 10 
September, Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis convened a meeting with the 
DSRSG/RC/HC to take stock of the disaster relief operations implemented by 
the international community in response to the humanitarian crisis. The 
meeting was attended by several members of her cabinet, including ?among 
others- the Minister of Planning and External Cooperation, the Minister of 
the Interior, the Minister of Public Works, the Minister of Education and 
the Secretary of State for Public Security. Priority actions to be 
undertaken jointly by the Government and humanitarian agencies were also 
defined.

7. The UN Disaster Assessment Coordination (UNDAC) dispatched one 
additional staff to Gonaives to strengthen its seven-member team already 
on the ground in support of humanitarian coordination. At the local level, 
UNDAC teams (currently in Gonaives and Les Cayes) have the responsibility 
for humanitarian coordination on behalf of the HC. As soon as longer-term 
resources are available, these teams will be replaced by OCHA or staff 
from the RC/HC Office. MINUSTAH is coordinating its operations with the US 
Navy ship dispatched to provide logistic support for aid distributions. 
The Emergency Relief Coordinator will launch the Haiti Flash Appeal, 
requesting USD 107 million, in New York on 12 September.

Road Conditions

8.In view of the conditions of roads and bridges, logistics for the relief 
operation are particularly challenging. According to UNDSS, movements by 
road from Gonaives to Port au Prince and from Saint Marc to Port au Prince 
are still prohibited due to flooding and collapsed bridges. The road from 
Ennery to Gonaives, from Cap Haitian to Hinche, and from Port de Paix to 
Gonaives are equally prohibited for UN staff movement. The Road from Port 
au Prince to Les Cayes through Miragoane is hardly accessible, since the 
bridge at Grand Goave is reportedly at the verge of collapsing. Access 
from Port au Prince to Jacmel and from Jeremie to Les Cayes is possible by 
road, however, caution is required.

Attachments:
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