The Federation's mission is to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and its millions of volunteers are active in 185 countries.
In Brief
Period covered by this update: 14 April to 23 May, 2007.
History of this Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF)-funded operation:
- CHF 200,000 (USD 164,474 or EUR 123,457) was allocated from the Federation's DREF on 12 April 2007, to respond to the needs of this operation and to replenish disaster preparedness stocks distributed to the affected population.
- This operation is expected to be implemented for 4 months, and will be completed by 12 August 2007; a DREF Bulletin Final Report (narrative and financial) will be made available three months after the end of the operation (by 12 November 2007).
The International Federation undertakes activities that are aligned with its Global Agenda, which sets out four broad goals to meet the Federation's mission to "improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity".
Global Agenda Goals:
- Reduce the numbers of deaths, injuries and impact from disasters.
- Reduce the number of deaths, illnesses and impact from diseases and public health emergencies.
- Increase local community, civil society and Red Cross Red Crescent capacity to address the most urgent situations of vulnerability.
- Reduce intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion and promote respect for diversity and human dignity.
Background and current situation
Since 17 March 2007 prolonged heavy rainfall and isolated storms over Hispaniola caused severe flooding in Haiti, affecting more than 3,000 families. The most affected have been the provinces of Nord-Est, Ouest, Grande-Anse, Nord-Ouest and Nord. Some of these areas (Grande Anse, Nippes, Ouest and Nord-Ouest) had already been affected by the floods last December, which put them at a higher risk during these new events.
According to the reports from the Civil Protection Directorate (Direction de la Protection Civile - DPC), heavy rains left 12 casualties, two people missing, 14 wounded, 270 houses destroyed and another 1,215 houses severely damaged. Out of the estimated 3,000 affected families, at least 261 families were displaced to temporary shelters.
The Haitian Government allocated 9 million Gourdes (approx. USD 237,000) to an Emergency Fund for the Provincial authorities in order to carry out relief operations within the affected areas. The DPC also allocated 250,000 Gourdes (approx. USD 6,600) to carry out relief actions.
Road access was limited in several departments. In Abricots (Grande-Anse Department), the only access available was by boat, since the road infrastructure was completely inaccessible. Road access infrastructure was also limited in the departments of Nippes and Nord-Est. Due to the work of the Ministry of Transportation on the rehabilitation of the road infrastructure in the affected areas all roads are now accessible.
Despite the continuous rainfall during April (mostly in the south of the country according to information reported several days ago), no major floods were reported and the situation remained stable. The affected families returned to their homes since the water levels in the affected areas decreased.
For further information specifically related to this operation please contact:
In Haiti: Dr. Michaele Amedée Gédéon, President, Haitian National Red Cross Society e-mail: drgedeonm@yahoo.com phone (509) 222 55 54; Dr. Jean-Pierre Guiteau, Executive Officer, HaitianNational Red Cross Society, email. guiteau2001@yahoo.com
In Haiti, Jean-Pierre Givel, Head of Delegation, e-mail JP.Givel@ifrc.org; phone (509) 510 26 28; Fax (509) 221 8633
In Panama, Stephen McAndrew, Head of PADRU, e-mail Stephen.Mcandrew@ifrc.org; phone (507)316 1001; Fax (507) 316 1082
In Geneva, Luis Luna, Regional Officer, Americas Department, e-mail Luis.Luna@ifrc.org; phone (41 22) 730 42 74; Fax (41 22) 733 03 95
All International Federation assistance seeks to adhere to the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) in Disaster Relief and is committed to the Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response (Sphere) in delivering assistance to the most vulnerable.
For longer-term programmes in this or other countries or regions, please refer to the Federation's Annual Appeal. For support to or for further information concerning Federation programmes or operations in this or other countries, or for national society profiles, please also access the Federation's website at http://www.ifrc.org