World Vision begins aid relief after Haiti hurricane

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

After the fiercest Caribbean storm in almost a decade pounded into Haiti, leaving a trail of destruction in the impoverished country, World Vision has begun distributing aid.

Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti as a violent slow-moving Category 4 storm with 230km/h winds - the most powerful hurricane to hit Haiti in more than half a century. The Caribbean nation is still reeling from a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake in 2010 that left up to 200,000 dead and displaced close to 1.5 million people.

World Vision has begun distributing aid from pre-positioned warehouses stocked with lifesaving essentials including clean water, blankets, tarpaulins and hygiene kits. But as the storm hit Cuba and surged towards the United States coast, national director John Hasse warned that the need would be great in the poorest country in the Americas.

"We're seeing enormous amounts of flooding, enormous amounts of wind damage," he said. "Yet right up until the storm hit, we still heard many people saying, 'We're waiting on God' and not making preparations.”

At least eight deaths have been reported, but authorities have warned the final toll is expected to be higher and the damage significant. Among the reported dead were two Haitian men and four people in the neighbouring Dominican Republic, including three children who were killed when the walls of their home collapsed, news agencies reported. Last week, two people died in the storm - in Colombia and on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent.

Hasse said World Vision was particularly focused on the post-hurricane risk to children, with damage to water and sanitation infrastructure posing the threat of a cholera outbreak in affected areas. He said agriculture was also a major concern, with a high risk of crop losses.

“World Vision had been making good progress in areas like the nutrition of children following the drought last year. It looked like it would be a great year for crops, and now we’re scared that we’re going to see decline again because of the storm,” he said.

World Vision has been present in Haiti for 38 years and has worked with the Haitian government to prepare for – and protect people from – hurricanes in rural areas.

As the storm surged towards the United States, Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency, while in South Carolina officials planned to evacuate more than one million people 160 kilometres from the coast.

For interviews with World Vision staff on the ground, contact: Stuart Rintoul 0407 241 492

*Image credit: NASA

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