Message: The islands of The Bahamas and Haiti suffered severe impact from the passage of Hurricane Matthew, the 5th named Hurricane of the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane season. As a result, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) through the Regional Response Mechanism (RRM) facilitated the coordination and deployment of regional specialized response teams to provide operational support and damage/needs assessments in the most affected areas in Haiti and The Bahamas. The Caribbean Community will also make targeted relief interventions in the affected Member States.
(Note: CDEMA CU Situation Reports present official data as issued by the National Emergency Operations Centre of an affected State. Data and information presented by the press, social media and other unofficial sources may differ.)
NATIONAL ACTIONS:
HAITI
The latest Situation Report (#9) issued by the from the NEOC (covering the period midnight on 13th October to 21st October at 6:00PM) indicates health, water, sanitation and housing are the priority areas for the Government of Haiti. Initial assessments have found that in total 2.1 million persons were affected by the hurricane. There are 141,493 persons remain in 204 shelters (117 in Grand Anse, 82 in Sud, 4 in Ouest and 1 in Nippes). Shelters in the departments of Centre, Artibonite, Sud-Est, and Nord-Ouest are closed.
The National EOC continues to coordinate the relief efforts. Coordination meetings involving national and international institutions, have been established for several critical areas including humanitarian aid, housing and public information.
The Government of Haiti has strengthened its strategies for delivering humanitarian aid to affected populations, particularly in the southern departments of Grand Anse, Nippes and Sud. Aid is being transported by air and sea, as well as by ground. The Haiti National Police and MINUSTAH have put measures in place to protect aid convoys travelling to affected areas.
It is estimated that 1.4 million persons are facing food insecurity, of which 806,000 require urgent food aid. To date, 788.54 metric tonnes of aid has been delivered to affected communities across the country. The public is being kept informed via multiple avenues including press release, text messages and social media.
Sector Assessments and Actions
According to the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP), 1424 cases of cholera have been reported during the first half of October, 2016. Repairs are underway it affected health structures with the support of international partners. DINEPA is distributing water to shelters in the departments of Sud, Grand Anse and Nippes, via tankers and in the bottled forms. Work is also underway to repair water supply networks and install water tanks. The NEOC is also distributing chlorination kits for water purification.
In the Education sector, initial assessments indicate that 774 schools (5% of schools in the affected departments) have been damaged. The Ministry of Education is assessing schools that are serving as shelters, to determine when they can be re-opened for classes. Technical assessments of the damaged buildings are being conducted as well, in collaboration with the engineering schools.
The Department of Public Works, Transport and Communications has repaired 206.4 km of the 350 km of roadways affected in the department of Sud-East and 257.9 km of the 296 km affected in Grand'Anse. Most of the blocked roads have been re-opened, including the Jeremie-Cayes section, which facilitates the distribution of humanitarian aid. The Engineering Corps of the Haitian military has assigned 11 personnel to support this work.
UPDATES: CARICOM Operational Support Team (COST)
The COST continues to provide support to the effective operation of the EOCs of (i) Jeremie, (in Grande Anse) and (ii) Les Cayes, (in the SouthSud). The COST also continues to collaborate with the Mayor of Les Cayes to coordinate the relief and response efforts.
Emergency Operation Centre (EOC):
The EOC in Les Cayes is designated as the central coordinating area for all relief supplies in that area. All humanitarian actors are expected to register with the EOC and channel their relief supplies through the EOC.
Schools and Shelter:
Some schools were re-opened on Tuesday, October 18; however others continue to be used as shelters despite damage that may have occurred to the structures.
REGIONAL ACTIONS:
Approximately USD$ 53,000 of emergency relief supplies, sponsored by CARICOM, were delivered to Haiti on October 19, 2016. The supplies included tarpaulin, water, protein, starch, hygiene products and supplies for babies.
The shipment was organized by the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), through the collaborative efforts of the CDEMA Coordinating Unit and the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Jamaica, and transport of the relief items into Haiti was facilitated by the Government of the United States of America.
A CARICOM Contingent comprising the members of the CARICOM Disaster Relief Unit (CDRU) and members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) arrived in Haiti on October 20th, 2016 to support humanitarian relief operations and the distribution of relief supplies to the affected population in Les Cayes. Deployment of the Contingent was facilitated by The Regional Security System and the Government of Jamaica.
Please click here for Appendix 1 which summarises pledges and donations of support to Haiti and The Bahamas as of 9:00PM October 24th, 2016.
CDEMA continues to monitor the situation and provide updates as necessary.
CONTACT DETAILS: The CDEMA CU 24-hour contact number 1 (246) 434-4880