Relief for hurricane-battered Haiti

Source: Plan
Date: 16 Sep 2008

Plan is providing emergency food, shelter and medical relief to communities hit by 4 severe tropical storms that have swept across Haiti in recent weeks.

Deadly storms

The deadly storms have killed at least 326 people, destroyed 10,800 buildings and forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.

Relief efforts following tropical storm Hanna were hampered by the arrival of Hurricane Ike, which destroyed the last remaining bridge into the port of Gonaives.

Rivers swollen by the previous torrential rainfall and the already saturated ground meant that affected areas rapidly flooded again.

Help for Plan areas

The most seriously affected Plan areas are in the south east of the country, where Plan was the first organisation to begin relief work, helping 1,000 homeless people in 8 shelters and ensuring that they had access to food and safe water.

Plan's response will concentrate on helping children and families in the worst-affected areas. The first phase of relief work will provide essential medicines to health centres and hospitals, measures to prevent the spread of disease, support for traumatised children and basic school supplies.

In the longer term, Plan will assist with the rebuilding of homes and other community buildings and the restocking of farms with livestock and agricultural supplies.