Many supermarket shelves in northern Haiti are now empty and people
in coastal areas are being evacuated inland to schools and public
buildings in preparation for the worst of Hurricane Irma today and
tomorrow. Oxfam’s Tania Escamilla is in Cap
Haitien – Haiti’s second city, population 280,000 – with Oxfam’s
27-person team which is currently working with authorities in
assisting the evacuation. The government has prepared 793 temporary
shelters across seven...Request free
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Many supermarket shelves in northern Haiti are now empty and people
in coastal areas are being evacuated inland to schools and public
buildings in preparation for the worst of Hurricane Irma today and
tomorrow.
Oxfam’s Tania Escamilla is in Cap Haitien – Haiti’s second city,
population 280,000 – with Oxfam’s 27-person team which is currently
working with authorities in assisting the evacuation. The
government has prepared 793 temporary shelters across seven
departments and, together with Oxfam and other agencies, is trying
to move as many people away from the coast.
Escamilla said:
“I get the sense that people here are used to hurricanes and no-one
seems frantically scared, but I’ve heard from many that some areas
of the country haven’t even fully recovered from Hurricane Matthew
last year – and now they’re facing this.
“While many are moving, there are quite a few people who have
decided not to evacuate but to stay put instead, fearing to lose
their belongings and home.”
The Oxfam team in Cap Haitien is already preparing to mount
emergency repairs to water and sanitation facilities, working with
the Ministry of Public Works.
Escamilla said:
“My engineering and humanitarian colleagues tell me that although
cholera cases are considered low and ‘under control’, the disease
remains their biggest concern should the storm wreck
infrastructure.
“We fear that half-a-million people could be affected even in the
best-case scenario – or as many as 3 million in the
worst”.
Escamilla said:
“Cap Haitien has a combination of well-established houses with
slums in some areas including in the coast. The winds and storm
surge would be devastating for a large part of this city and
surrounding towns. Haiti’s geography and poverty make people
extremely vulnerable to flooding and landslides.”
In Haiti, Oxfam has moved emergency aid into five locations across
the country, three of which are in northern areas that will be the
most exposed to the hurricane’s impact. Already four teams, made up
of five or more specialists in emergencies, have been mobilized in
Cap-Haitien, Ouanaminthe, Anse-Rouge and Gonaives. Oxfam also has
nine cholera response teams now prepared to deploy.
Oxfam teams in Dominican Republic and Cuba are also preparing to
respond. Oxfam has worked in the Caribbean region for over 30 years
and has expert teams in providing safe water and carrying out
sanitation and hygiene work for those people most vulnerable after
an emergency strikes.
