Hurricane Matthew in Haiti: almost all water networks are out of order in Les Nippes

A family in front of her house next to Miragoane, in the region of Les Nippes. This cob and corrugated iron shelter could not withstand the gusts and heavy rains. © Anne-Gaëlle Lebeau / SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL

“The emergency is access to water…”

“In the south, near Jacmel and in the region of Les Nippes, many families have lost everything, above all their house. These are making with cob and corrugated iron shelters which could not resist the gusts and heavy rains.”

“Today, there are still many families living in makeshift shelters, in schools or in churches. In Miragoane alone, 700 families are still living in makeshift shelters. They are suffering from problems related to water access because 98% of networks are no longer usable, according to Haitian authorities with whom we work. Wells are flooded, and their water is now undrinkable. The priority is to secure that. Our team in Port-au-Prince is assessing our resources, with the aim to deploy them quickly.”

“… But food insecurity could quickly become a major problem”

“If the main emergency is about water access and the fight against a probable cholera outbreak because of hygiene conditions in the most affected areas, we have to monitor the food security situation too. Fields have been destroyed, livestock has disappeared. Today, populations are picking what is felt during the hurricane and are selling it in markets. The main problem is that in a few days, the fruit and vegetables people are finding on the ground will be rotten and those that aren’t will already be sold. There will be nothing left on the market stalls in the coming weeks. We need to act fast, particularly on access to water and on the fight against cholera. Rural and agricultural areas will need help to rebuild them in the next months.”

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