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 State of Haiti.
(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 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), 1,424 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.
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.
The Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica has also shipped several containers of relief supplies to Haiti and provided cash donations to support CARICOM efforts. The Government of Jamaica has also shipped two containers of relief supplies donated by the people of Jamaica
In addition to donated items, supplies are also being purchased in the affected areas of the country, to generate economic activity and support the recovery of livelihoods. Where possible and appropriate locals have been engaged to support the work and provided a stipend (to contribute to the financial and psychological recovery of affected residents).
A 30-person CARICOM Contingent, comprising the CARICOM Operational Support Team (COST), the CARICOM Disaster Relief Unit (CDRU) and personnel from the Jamaica Defense Force (JDF), has been deployed to Haiti to provide relief to the affected populations in Les Cayes and Jeremie, and support to the coordination of emergency response. The Contingent also has a mandate to support the rehabilitation of selected schools in these towns.
The COST support was deployed to Haiti on 7th October, 2016, while the CDRU and JDF members joined the Contingent on October 20th, 2016. Deployment of the CDRU and JDF personnel was facilitated by the Regional Security System (RSS) and the Government of Jamaica.
UPDATES from the CARICOM Contingent
EOC Support
The COST continues to provide support to the effective operation of the EOCs of (i) Jeremie (in Grande Anse) and (ii) Les Cayes (in Sud). The COST also continues to collaborate with the Mayor of Les Cayes to coordinate the relief and response efforts.
The EOC in Les Cayes has been 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.
Relief Distribution
The CDRU has distributed relief packages to 200 families in Fonfrede, Les Cayes on Thursday October 27, 2016 on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). These packages are designed to allow families to prepare meals which meet minimum standards for nutrition and include starches (e.g. rice, flour), canned proteins, other foodstuffs (e.g. sugar, oil, salt) and water. Supplies for babies were also distributed. Relief supplies have been procured with the kind support of the CDEMA Sub-Regional Focal Point Jamaica, through the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management ODPEM). Supplementary relief supplies have also been purchased in Les Cayes, Haiti.
The CDRU and JDF personnel have also provided support to the operations of the medical clinic in Fonfrede. The relief efforts will continue into the next week.
Rehabilitation of Schools
The JDF team, which includes engineers, has completed assessments of damaged schools in Jeremie and Les Cayes to identify where a rehabilitation intervention can be made. Based on the results of the assessments and the guidance of the administration in these towns, a school has been selected for rehabilitation during the period of the Contingent’s deployment to Haiti.
Please click here for Appendix 1 which summarises pledges and donations of support to Haiti and The Bahamas as of 9:00PM October 31st, 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