Oxfam reacts to Hurricane Sandy passing through Haiti

International humanitarian organization Oxfam has been in the field and talked directly to Haitian people affected by continuous rains of hurricane Sandy. After more than 48 hours of rain and some violent winds in the south, Haiti is still under national alert in the 10 departments and flooding has been registered in many localities in the south. Amelie Gauthier of Oxfam said :

“People have been evacuated and transported to safer ground. Their homes have been flooded; they need basic relief like new plastic sheeting and hygiene kits.

“In one area in Croix-des-Bouquets, we spoke to several families who now live with 160 families, more than 500 people, in a fire station. There are pregnant women and young children as part of that one shelter.

“As the rains continue to pour here, Oxfam is preparing to scale up its response to the flooding and to prevent cholera outbreaks. Oxfam is looking at the impact of the hurricane in four key departments and we are mobilizing all local organizations trained in cholera prevention to prepare a large campaign in the coming days. The lack of access to basic drinkable water and safe sanitation in some urban and rural areas are being closely monitored in the most difficult conditions.

“We’re also concerned by initial reports of destruction of agricultural crops caused by hurricane Sandy in the south.  The south of Haiti is already food insecure because of the drought and the impacts of tropical storm Isaac. We’re following the situation closely as this will affect thousands of farmers for the planting seasons as well as school nutrition programs.

“Oxfam is supporting local authorities, the Civil Protection Agency (DPC) and the National Direction for Water and Sanitation (DINEPA) in various localities in the Region des Palmes, providing them with transport, logistics and equipment for now. We are preparing hygiene kits, cholera prevention kits for distribution for some temporary shelters.”