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STORY: GENEVA / HAITI SANDY AFTERMATH
TRT: 1.37
SOURCE: CH UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 20 NOVEMBER 2012, GENEVA SWITZERLAND
FILE – 2011, PALAIS DES NATIONS, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1. Wide shot, exterior Palais des Nations.
20 NOVEMBER 2012, GENEVA SWITZERLAND
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for OCHA:
“Sandy, the tropical storm killed 60 people in Haiti. That was the update last night and the current evidence overall is that 1.8 million people have been affected according to estimates from the government.”
3. Cutaway, press conference
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for OCHA:
“In Haiti the flood waters have been receeding since Sunday. We estimate that 18,000 homes have been flooded damaged or destroyed. There's been extensive damage to roads, public buildings, schools, hospitals and other critical infrastructure.”
5. Cutaway, journalists
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Tarik Jasarevic, spokesperson WHO:
“Several cholera treatment centres were affected. The latest figure I got was the 22 cholera treatment centres were damaged by strong winds and flooding.”
7. Cutaway, press conference
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Tarik Jasarevic, spokesperson WHO:
“Since the start of the cholera outbreak nearly 2 years ago there have been approximately 600,000 cases and 7,500 deaths in Haiti, in the Dominican Republic, 25,000 cases and 350 deaths.
9. Cutaway, journalists
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Tarik Jasarevic, spokesperson WHO:
“Every time there is a cholera outbreak it is a crisis, and definitely what we are seeing in Haiti after 2 years is one of the biggest cholera outbreaks ever.”
11. Wide shot, journalists
The United Nations (UN) warned today (2 November) that the flooding in Haiti caused by Hurricane Sandy was leading to unsanitary conditions, threatening a sharp increase in cases of cholera. The storm, a powerful category two hurricane when it tore through Haiti last Thursday, killed more than 50 people there and caused widespread damage, destroyed crops and left thousands of people homeless.
Speaking to journalist at the United Nations in Geneva, Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN’s humanitarian coordination agency (OCHA) said that, “the tropical storm killed 60 people in Haiti. That was the update last night and the current evidence overall is that 1.8 million people have been affected according to estimates from the government.” Haiti is still rebuilding after the massive 2010 earthquake that leveled much of the capital, left hundreds of thousands homeless and killed more than 200 000 people.
More than three days of heavy rains left roads and bridges badly damaged, which has cut off access to several towns and also a key border crossing with the Dominican Republic which was also badly affected.
But the greatest threat to life may come from cholera, which is spread via contaminated water.
Tarik Jasarevic, spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO) told journalists at the same briefing “Several cholera treatment centres were affected. The latest figure I got was the 22 cholera treatment centres were damaged by strong winds and flooding.”
Since the start of a cholera outbreak nearly 2 years ago there have been approximately 600,000 cases and 7,500 deaths in Haiti, and 25,000 cases and 350 deaths in the neighbouring Dominican Republic.
Jasarevic added that “every time there is a cholera outbreak it is a crisis, and definitely what we are seeing in Haiti after 2 years is one of the biggest cholera outbreaks ever”.
