Support for Named Disaster: 2010 Haiti, Hurricane Tomas available at Norwegian Church Aid

FROM THE SITE:

Weathering the storm

Hurricane Tomas lashed the Caribbean country of Haiti with strong winds and torrential rain Friday, creating an emergency in a disaster zone. Read about NCAs relief efforts here.

Hurricane Tomas hit the poor, earthquake-shattered country in the afternoon, bringing with it up to 30cm of rain and gusts of up to 135km/hour. Flooding has been reported in many areas and assessments are underway as to the extent of the damage.

A hurricane of this magnitude risks sending the already struggling country deeper into difficulty following the earthquake that hit the country in January 2010 and the outbreak of cholera that has killed at least 400 people and hospitalized over 6700 in the last weeks.

Norwegian Church Aid has increased its personnel resources on the ground and has stepped up its activities in 30 different tented camps and informal settlements across the country and in the poor neighbourhoods of Cité Soleil and Bel Air, many of which are now flooded.

Our efforts are concentrated around delivering water, sanitation and hygiene ("WASH") assistance: providing clean drinking water, building and maintaining latrines, and assisting with cholera-prevention measures. We have storm-secured latrines and shower blocks in advance of the storm, and are ready to repair damaged water systems and pump out floodwater if required.

Other ACT Alliance partners have ensured that tents, plastic sheeting, rehydration salts and hygiene kits can be distributed immediately as required.

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