| Haiti
Beginning in late May, heavy rains
and flooding affected an estimated 25,000 people in
southeastern Haiti who were already living in dire conditions
following the recent political crisis. The village of
Fonds Verrettes was almost completely washed away by
the floods and the lower part of Mapou disappeared under
four meters of water. Although roads were destroyed
and there was no communication with the affected area,
assessment teams managed to arrive fairly quickly, thanks
to logistical and helicopter support from the Multinational
Interim Force (MIF).
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Joint teams from Médecins
sans Frontières, Médecins du Monde, the
International Committee for the Red Cross and the Federation
of Red Cross Societies quickly launched medical and
psychosocial interventions, while NGOs such as OXFAM
prepared water and sanitation programs. Although the
acute emergency phase has now passed, many rehabilitation
needs remain. Health centers, homes and schools need
to be repaired or even rebuilt in a safer area, while
the population needs assistance to restore their lives
and livelihoods.
The disaster revealed weak points
in terms of the response: the dependence on the logistics
of the MIF; the weak national infrastructure; and the
late positioning/deployment of UN and humanitarian actors
in the field.
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Dominican
Republic
The same heavy rains that affected
Haiti raised the water level of the Jimaní River;
homes were swept away, utility lines cut and rescuers
prevented from reaching the hardest-hit regions. Civil
defense officials helped to evacuate families to higher
ground. The hospital in Jimaní was flooded and
patients were transferred to another facility. A few
of the potential public health risks from this disaster
included changes in existing patterns of morbility,
changes in the ecosystem due to vectors, population
displacement and deterioration in drinking water and
basic sanitation systems and health infrastructure.
The most pressing tasks involved strengthening the capacity
of the provincial health authorities and health centers
to deal with potential disease outbreaks common to this
type of disaster and implementing health promotion,
information, education and communication initiatives
directed at the population in temporary shelters and
those living in affected areas.
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