HAITI / STORM AFTERMATH

The strong rainstorm which hit Port-au-Prince, on Friday killed and injured several people and caused damage in the camps set up for those left homeless by the earthquake. MINUSTAH and OCHA are assessing the damage and assisting people who were trapped or in need of medical aid. MINUSTAH

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:01:31
• Production Date: 27 September 2010
• Asset Language: Original
• Subject Topical: HUMANITARIAN RELIEF; REFUGEES; DISPLACED PERSONS; DISASTER PREVENTION; DISASTER PREPAREDNESS; DISASTER RELIEF; HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
• Geographic Subject: HAITI; UNITED NATIONS STABILIZATION MISSION IN HAITI - MINUSTAH
• MAMS Id: U100927f

Description

STORY: HAITI / STORM AFTERMATH
TRT: 1:31
SOURCE: MINUSTAH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: CREOLE / ENGLISH / NATS

DATE: 23 MARCH 2010, PORT SU PRINCE, HAITI

Shotlist

1. Various shots, destroy tents
2. Various shots, man reconstructing his tent
3. Wide shot, MINUSTAH delegation visiting Carradeux IDP camp
4. Med shot, tents and woman
5. Med shot, woman
6. Wide shot, Nigel Fisher talking to a woman
7. SOUNDBITE (French), Nigel Fisher, UN Deputy Special Representative, Haiti:
“We noted in Carradeux the impact damage. Very early in the morning, the tents will arrive. It is important that we discuss with the mangers of IDP camp the way of distributing of the tents to avoid any problem. There are many families, which lost their tents, and others have their tents in bad conditions. But we prioritize the families, which lost everything. We are here to say to all them that we are with them and that they are not forgotten. Uncertainty is worse than anything. The distribution of tent will start tomorrow.”
8. Med shot, Nigel Fisher talking to the UNPOL

Storyline

The United Nations (UN) reported that residents of more than 160 of the numerous temporary settlements that sprang up in Haiti following January’s catastrophic earthquake have been hit by a deadly rainstorm that lashed the capital, Port-au-Prince, on Friday (24 September) and are in urgent need of shelter material.

At least 1 million people are still living in tent camps or makeshift housing, eight months after the earthquake struck the country, killing around 200,000 people.

Needs assessments in the camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) have identified 11,000 families requiring shelter assistance after the brief but intense storm.

Humanitarian agencies have so far distributed more than 5,400 tarpaulins and nearly 4,670 tents to over 3,200 families, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

While sufficient stocks of shelter material are available to meet the needs created by the storm, they will need to be replenished quickly.

UN Deputy Special Representative in Haiti Nigel Fisher, who visited a camp last week said that the distribution of tents will be done according to priority “to avoid any problem.” He added that “we prioritize the families, which lost everything. We are here to say to all them that we are with them and that they are not forgotten.”

UN Police have conducted 191 joint patrols with the Haitian National Police in IDP camps and no incidents have been reported. Some 200 soldiers have provided escort security to aid workers distributing tarpaulins to camp residents.

According to media reports, at least five people in Port-au-Prince died as a result of the storm, which was brief but sharp and brought heavy rains and high winds to the city, including the many camps for internally displaced persons who have been homeless since the quake.