Oxfam America

Earthquake in Haiti Fact Sheet

akramer — 2011-01-10T19:20:54Z

Since January 12, 2010, Haitians have confronted challenges of staggering proportion: loved ones lost, homes ruined, jobs gone. Their endurance has been extraordinary. Yet the Herculean task of recovery lies ahead—an undertaking that will require a degree of political will and sustained global support perhaps never seen before. Read our fact sheet to find out more about the current situation in Haiti, get an update on Oxfam's recovery efforts, and learn what lies ahead for the country's reconstruction.

After the storms, travel is almost impossible in remote areas of Haiti

Olbert Nicolas — 2009-09-24T16:12:11Z

When I got up in the morning, I knew it would not be a typical day. For several days, travel out of Petite Rivière de Nippes—and the entire department for that matter—was virtually impossible. The river in town had breached its banks, destroying large sections of the road leading out of town towards Mirogane. To cross the river would be treacherous at best. Leaving at 9 a.m., I made by way to the river via motorcycle. We crossed on foot, the motto-taxi driver struggling to hold on to the bike.

I eventually made it to Mirogane, the main city in the department, which had also been severely affected by both Gustav and Hanna. Here things got interesting. As I made my way along Route Nationale #2, I began noticing trucks full of produce lined up on the side of the road. They were carrying avocados, bananas, and other fresh produce from the South and Grand Anse to be sold in the markets of Port-au-Prince. However, they would not make it to those markets because the bridge on the highway was 1.5 meters?or nearly five feet?under water. The women who had purchased the merchandise in order to resell it, were clearly distraught as the fruits and vegetables had already begun to rot.

As I neared the bridge, or where the bridge should have been, Haitian police officers were posted to prevent vehicles from attempting to cross. A few days earlier, the Haitian government formally closed the highway.

Already in the days following the closing of the road, a group of entrepreneurs had organized alternative transportation for foot passengers and small loads. A shuttle-ferry system had been established. For 15 Haitian gourdes—roughly 38 cents—a man carries you on his back or shoulders and puts you in a "chario," a small wooden boat. Once full, two or three men push the boat across the 229-foot stretch of water to the other side, where for another 15 gourdes, another man takes you on his shoulders to dry land. Here I was able to get on public transport into Port-au-Prince.

Despite this alternative transportation, the road closure combined with the extensive damage caused by the storms will have a great impact on the area. The inability of aid groups to use the road means that help will be slow to reach the isolated areas most affected by the storms. There are great public health risks and food security issues that will need to be addressed in the coming days, weeks, and months and access to the area is critical.

The water started to rise, and it did not stop

Kristie van de Wetering — 2009-09-24T16:13:14Z

"The situation is at its breaking point in Gonaïves," reported Oxfam's Charlie Rowley early Sunday, just back from the devastated town. "There are very few, if any, coping mechanisms left for the people there. Whatever food and clean water that was in the town is gone. And no new food or supplies are coming in. If food and supplies don't reach the people in the next 48 hours, we will have a situation of epic proportions on our hands."

Almost one week after Tropical Storm Hanna descended on Haiti, getting food and supplies to Gonaïves has been virtually impossible. The main road from Port-au-Prince was cut when a bridge collapsed just outside of St. Marc, and the road is cut off from the north, as the bridge in the neighboring town of Ennery was washed away. The alternative route through the Central Plateau proved difficult for large trucks carrying supplies, and rough waters have delayed planned shipments of humanitarian aid via boat.

According to UN estimates, 60,000 people are said to be in temporary shelters. "The conditions of those in shelters are horrific," says Rowley. "There is no food, water, cooking materials, basic toiletries or medical supplies, sleeping mats, or latrines. People are in desperate need of anything and everything. Many people have injuries to their feet, he adds, because they are having to wade through the water without shoes.

People are fleeing the town by the hundreds—on foot, in cars, whatever way they can. Some are moving up to the small plateau to the north of Gonaïves, others are going south.

Ogè Léandre, a 45-year-old father of six, explains how he and his family barely managed to get to the shelters in time. "The waters from Tropical Storm Jeanne [2004] did not reach us, so we did not think that we needed to evacuate this time. We packed up everything off the ground and stacked it on top of tables and beds. But then the water started to rise, and it did not stop. So we decided to go to the shelter. But the water was already so high and strong that I could not hold onto one of my children, and the water swept her away. Luckily someone was there to grab her. We got to the roof of the shelter, and about an hour later watched as our entire house was washed away."

In the meantime, Hurricane Ike grazed the northern coast of Haiti early Sunday morning, bringing more rain to Gonaïves and other towns in the Valley. The rain washed out the bridge in Mirebalais, and massive flooding and deaths are being reported in the town of Cabaret, just north of Port-au-Prince.

"We cannot wait for the roads and bridges to be repaired," says Oxfam's Humanitarian Coordinator Kone Amara. "We must get supplies into Gonaïves now. We are in contact with the United Nations' peacekeeping mission here to see how we can begin delivering aid with helicopters. The World Food Program is also preparing shipments by boat once the seas have calmed."

While Oxfam continues to evaluate the damage caused by Hurricane Gustav and Tropical Storm Hanna in other parts of the country, the agency is scaling up its first-response efforts to Gonaïves, where it has a shipment of drinking water and relief materials ready for distribution.

Emergency update: storms in Haiti

Oxfam America — 2009-09-24T16:13:57Z

An estimated 650,000 people have been affected by the recent storms in Haiti, and 61 have died. Tens of thousands have fled their homes, but food and clean water are scarce, and shelter conditions are poor. Of particular concern are sanitary conditions, as human waste and animal carcasses are contaminating bodies of water.

Oxfam is simultaneously assessing the needs and distributing essential supplies in the department of Nippes, and we are coordinating with local authorities to provide support for six emergency shelters in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. In the hard-hit city of Gonaïves, where lack of access initially thwarted relief efforts, the agency is now supplying families with basic household items and five-gallon containers of clean water.