OCHA Situation Report No. 11
Haiti: Tropical Storm Hanna, Gustav, Ike 
15 September 2008


Source:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

General Situation

The death toll according to the national civilian protection unit (DPC) 
stands at 337 and 170,000 families affected as a result of tropical storms 
Fay, Hanna, Gustav and Ike. Some areas in the Southern Departments have 
still not been accessed but are receiving increasing attention from 
humanitarian partners with assessment plans and distribution ongoing.

In Gonaives, the RC/HC together with the PM and four ministers visited 
Gonaives yesterday and met with the local authorities.

Also in Gonaives, the security situation has improved and the tension has 
calmed down. Most parts of town have been assessed and victims are being 
reached with relief supplies. However, cases of malaria are increasing and 
there are concerns that the situation could potentially deteriorate. It is 
vital at this stage to conduct reconstruction and initiate programs to 
support the clean-up of the town and secure waste management. There is 
still no electricity in town. The old power plant is not working and the 
new plant has not yet been installed. The only electricity comes from 
generators. The situation outside Gonaives is still to be further assessed 
as resources permit.

Concerns have been expressed about the fact that emergency teams are 
bringing their own staff instead of recruiting local staff and thus 
reinforcing the local economy. It would be important to allocate more 
resources in high labour intense projects.

Living conditions in shelters need to be improved. Two cases of deaths in 
shelters have been reported in Grande Anse and Gonaives but this 
information should be taken with caution as there is no indication of the 
cause of death.

Assessments are ongoing, with increasing efforts made in the southern part 
of the country. A joint mission of the Haitian Red Cross, DPC, UNDAC and 
FACT is planned for Nippes and Artibonite (outside Gonaives). Hinche still 
needs to be assessed as well.

UNHAS should be operational in the field between September 17th and 20th.

Clusters are preparing geographic priorities and cluster leads will ensure 
that all members participating in the prioritization exercise present 
their findings to the RC/HC by Wednesday COB.

The emphasis should now also be placed on Early Recovery. A Cluster 
meeting will take place on the 15th of September at 16:00.

National response

Since the beginning of the emergency, the Civil Protection (DPC) has been 
providing response and coordination throughout the country.

At a central level, the DPC is coordinating with international actors and 
civil society groups, the private and public sector to identify priorities 
and provide an overview of the current response. At a local level, the DPC 
has mobilized all 10 national coordinators at Department and Commune 
levels to ensure coordination of assessments and response in the affected 
areas.

The DPC continues providing services to the population through alerts (64 
Bulletins issued so far), the evacuation of some 25,000 persons in 
Gonaives and search and rescue operations. In addition, authorities have 
so far provided shelter for some 70,000 people for the last 10 days. The 
DPC also reported that the Government has provided dry rations to disaster 
victims, drinking water in areas accessible and distributed some 100,000 
hot meals (only in Gonaives some 50,000 distributed). Assistance is also 
being provided in the health sector, water and sanitation, road 
rehabilitation/cleaning and agriculture repairs.

In close collaboration with the DPC and MINUSTAH, the Haitian National 
Police (HNP) is supporting actions towards securing roads (fixed patrols 
on national highway 1, assistance to convoys) and providing support to 
distributions.

On 12 September, the Government informed the international community of 
its current priorities:

- Restoring channels of communication: roads, bridges;

- Removing embankments;

- Ensuring mass distribution of food in affected areas (baby food);

- Procuring sanitation including waste and body management;

- Ensuring water drainage in plantations (banana in Arcahaie?);

- Strategizing for socio-economic rehabilitation and recapitalization;

- Strengthening sectoral interventions

Attachments:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/retrieveattachments?openagent&docid=DF4ED359F74E58ECC12574C5002F5451&file=Full_Report.pdf


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