I remember the first night I spent in Jeremie after the storm. There was dirt splattered on my arms and legs. My neck was sunburnt. I felt hot, but my clothes were damp. Taking a shower that night felt surreal. And I struggled with the reality that most people in that region didn’t have the luxury of bathing.
As I crawled into bed I looked up at the ceiling and thought about all of those people that would be sleeping under the stars. While I was thankful to have a safe place, I felt uneasy pondering this injustice. And then then I heard thunder. A roaring thunder. And within 10 minutes began a relentless downpour. Now my thoughts turned to those who were sleeping under the rain.
As the news regarding the hurricane has faded from the media, attention regarding the situation in Haiti has dulled. The storm may have passed, but the worst is not over. Rains continue nearly everyday. This has resulted in worse flooding in areas of the South, washing away remaining structures, limiting access to aid, continuing to endanger lives.
175,000 people are residing in over 300 shelters. Many of these are structures such as schools. Of course this means that many schools remain closed – a major setback for those children trying to better themselves through an education. Besides that, these buildings lack the infrastructure such as proper sanitation and adequate water filtration to serve mass populations. As you likely know, this raises the concern for the transmission of water-borne diseases, such as cholera. It is estimated that there have already been over 3000 cases of cholera in the affected area since Matthew hit. But to only speak of cholera we would be forgetting the grave risk for other infectious diseases. Pools of standing water continue to serve as a breeding ground for mosquitoes, which means malaria, dengue, zika and other mosquito-borne illnesses will spread. Given the extensive amount of debris on the ground, tetanus is a concern too.
Some reports say that 100% of the crop has been damaged. This fertile region of the country not only sustained itself, but provided food for other parts of the country too. While some banana trees have already begun to sprout new leaves, it will be years before the crop of other fruits such as mango are producing fruit again. Additionally the loss of livestock was devastating. I read one report that stated up to 90% of poultry is gone. It is a sad reality that these regions could face famine in the coming months.
Currently 1.4 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. This wasn’t a natural disaster that came and went. This is an active disaster that continues to play out in front of us.
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Mwen sonje premye nwit la mwen te pase nan Jeremie apre tanpèt la. Te gen labou sou bra mwen ak pye. Kou m’ se te boule. Mwen te santi cho, men rad mwen te mouye. Lè w’ ap pran yon douch nwit sa a, li te santi bon. Apre sa, mwen te panse koman pifò moun nan peyi sa a pa t’ ka benyen.
Lè m 'te ale nan kabann nwit sa a, mwen te gade nan plafon an ak panse sou tout moun ki pral dòmi anba zetwal yo. Mwen te kontan paske m’ te gen yon plas sekirite, men mwen te santi tris panse sou sa a enjistis. Apre sa a m’ te tande loraj. Yon loraj byen fò. Nan 10 minit lapli komanse tonbe. Kounye a, m’ te panse sou moun ki te dòmi anba lapli a.
Kòm nouvèl sou siklònap vini mwens popilè, atansyon sou sitiyasyon an nan Ayiti diminye. Tanpèt la pase, men pi move a pa pase. Lapli kontinye chak jou. Saa ki kòz pi move inondasyon nan zòn Sid la, lave lwen bilding ki rete, limite aksè nan èd,e k’ ap kontinye andanje lavi moun.
175,000 moun ap viv nan 300 abri yo. Anpil sa yo se bilding tankou lekòl yo. Natirèlman, sa a vle di ke anpil lekòl rete fèmen - sa a se move pou timoun sa yo ap eseye fè yon lavi pi bon ak yon edikasyon. Epitou bilding sa yo manke bon sanitasyon ak bon filtraj dlo pou sèvi popilasyon gwo. Sa a ogmante enkyetid la pou transmisyon maladi nan dlo, tankou kolera. Li se estime ke plis pase 3000 moun te gen kolera nan zòn ki afekte depi siklòn an frape. Gen risk pou lòt maladi enfeksyon tou. Kanpe dlo vle di gen plis moustik, sa a vle di malarya, deng, Zika ak lòt maladi pral gaye. Paske gen debri sou tè a, tetanòs se yon pwoblèm tou.
Kèk rapò di ke 100% nan plant yo te domaje. Rejyon sa a fètil nan peyi a fè manje pou tèt li e te fè manje pou lòt pati nan peyi a tou. Kèk pye bwa fig te deja gen pye fèy nouvo,men li pral ane yo anvan lòt fwi tankou mango ap grandi ankò. Anplis de sa te bèt yo devaste. Mwen te li yon rapò ki deklare jiska 90% nan poul ale. Li se yon reyalite tris ke rejyon sa yo te kapab gen grangou nan mwa k’ ap vini.
Kounye a 1.4 milyon moun bezwen asistans imanitè ijan. Sa a pa yon dezas natirèl ki te vin epi li t’ ale. Sa a se yon dezas aktif k’ ap kontinye.
Reference: Hurricane Matthew Situation Report 22. PAHO. 25 Oct 2016.
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