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Haiti

Haiti: Hurricane Season 2008 Revised Emergency Appeal No. MDRHT005

Attachments

GLIDE No. TC-2008-000147

This revised Emergency Appeal seeks CHF 8,360,877 (USD 7,600,810 or EUR 5,177,020) in cash, kind, or services to support the Haitian National Red Cross Society to assist 10,000 families (50,000 beneficiaries) for 9 months.

Appeal history:

- A Preliminary Emergency Appeal of CHF 3,812,770 (USD 3,466,154 or EUR 2,360,848) was launched on 5 September 2008 to support the Haitian National Red Cross Society to assist 10,000 families (50,000 beneficiaries) for 6 months. The Preliminary Appeal has been revised and adjusted upwards, in consideration of the humanitarian needs assessed, and the Red Cross Movement capacity to deliver disaster response programmes.

- CHF 300,000 (USD 272,727 or EUR 186,335) was allocated from the Federation's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to support this operation. Unearmarked funds to replenish DREF are encouraged.

Summary: On 26 August, hurricane Gustav hit Haiti leaving thousands of people affected in the South of the country, particularly in Cité Soleil (Ouest), and the Departments of Sud and Sud-Est. Just as the Haitian National Red Cross Society (HNRCS) was responding to this emergency with support from the Federation's Pan American Disaster Response Unit (PADRU), hurricane Hanna unexpectedly changed its course on the 1st of September. Although Hanna did not directly impact the island of Hispaniola, the torrential rains left many parts of Haiti seriously flooded, particularly the northern coast of the country. The city of Gonaives (Artibonite) was cut off from the outside world for almost four days before the water receded enough for the first aid agencies to come through. This was only a brief respite; as hurricane Ike brought yet more rain a few days later, Gonaives was cut off again, and the situation in other areas in both the Northern and Southern departments of the country further worsened.

Since the onset of the emergency, the HNRCS has been engaged in distribution of emergency relief assistance that had been pre-positioned in strategic locations throughout the last year with support from the Federation's PADRU. A nine-member Field Assessment Coordination Team (FACT), Regional Intervention Team (RIT) members, technical staff from the Federation's Americas Zone office and Regional Representation Office for Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, as well as five Emergency Response Units (ERUs) have been deployed to the country to lend assistance to people most affected by the compounded effects of the three hurricanes.

The HNRCS has requested international support from the Red Cross Movement through an Emergency Appeal. This appeal will focus on providing an appropriate and timely response as well as engaging in early recovery through programmes that lay the foundations for future risk reduction activities. Activities in immediate assistance have been focusing on the delivery of timely relief aid through the provision of non food relief items, water and basic health care in the most affected and remote areas. Early recovery activities, which are planned to start as early as within the first month since the launch of the operation, are focused in four main areas of intervention: provision of basic health care; shelter and non-food items; water and sanitation; and disaster preparedness and risk reduction. This operation is expected to be implemented over a period of 9 months, and will therefore be completed by 5 June, 2009; a Final Report will be made available by 5 September 2009 (three months after the end of the operation).

The situation

Hurricane Gustav, the seventh named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, made landfall on the southwest peninsula of Haiti, approximately 10 miles west of Jacmel on 26 August, 2008. Airports, sea ports and public offices were closed. On the morning of 27 August, as Gustav left Haiti, thousands of people were left affected by the heavy winds and floods and many of them were evacuated to temporary shelters. On 3 September 2008 hurricane Hanna caused heavy rains over the entire country, particularly affecting the departments of Nord, Nord West, and especially Artibonite. The Mission des Nations Unies pour la Stabilisation en Haïti (MINUSTAH) organised an aerial assessment of Gonaives, the capital city of Artibonite, and reported that flood water reached up to three meters in some locations. A team consisting of a PADRU Disaster Management delegate, a Water and Sanitation officer from the International Federation, American Red Cross staff, and a representative of the Haitian National Red Cross Society (HNRCS) also conducted an aerial survey of the area of Gonaives, and estimated that over 20,000 homes were flooded in most areas of the city and to various degrees.

By the time the winds and rain from hurricane Ike reached Haiti, access to the city of Gonaives was still limited by floods caused by Hanna. For many days the main road leading to the area from Port au Prince was under water and impassable. Furthermore, other areas of the country were reported to have suffered major damage as roads and bridges were damaged or collapsed. The northern road leading to Gonaives was washed away, as has also been the case of roads and bridges necessary to access Les Nippes located in the southern departments of the country. The damage is widespread and the departments of Sud, Sud-Est, Ouest, Centre and Nord-Ouest were reported to have had significant flooding.

The Département de la Protection Civile (DPC) has been leading assessments in the affected areas, and Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement field assessments have been carried out in close coordination with this local authority as well as with UN agencies. Two weeks into the operation, a number of locations have been reached, but access is still somewhat limited as the need to use alternative roads means many more hours of difficult travel to reach certain locations. Coastal roads are still flooded, and even though the rain and wind of tropical storms is no longer a threat at the time of writing this revised appeal, occasional heavy rainfall continues to hamper the repair of roads. Reaching some locations in the departments of Centre and Sud-Ouest, as well as cities in the coastal areas of the southern-most departments of the country such as Bainet and Marigot is still a challenge. As of 19 September, Côtes de Fer could still only be reached by boat or air, while les Nippes and Miragoane were still cut off.

Initial assessments demonstrated that significant flooding persists, particularly in and around Gonaives. Even in those areas where the water has receded, large farmland areas have been heavily affected by the excess water and the loss of crops and other livelihoods will exacerbate the already precarious food security situation. In addition, the more than 50,000 damaged and destroyed homes are impeding an adequate return of a significant number of families to their homes. On 15 September, more than 111,000 people were still reported to be in emergency shelters by the Government. Churches, community centres and schools have provided with this service, but with the start of the school year on 6 October, it will be a major challenge for local authorities and the international aid community alike to find adequate shelter for these families. The provision of adequate dignified shelter has been identified as a major challenge for both the early and long term recovery efforts. But even with a solution to the scarcity of shelter, appropriate health services, adequate water supply and means for proper sanitation measures are required for the affected population to avoid the risks of disease and a relapse into their previous precarious and vulnerable conditions.

Reliable information from the affected areas outside Port au Prince continues to be difficult to obtain as assessments are often delayed by lack of access due to the widespread flooding and dire road conditions.