Haiti has recently been overwhelmed by four tropical storms and hurricanes: Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike. These storms have caused widespread damage and destruction, leaving all 10 departments of the country affected by at least one of the storms. The full magnitude of the devastation is still being determined as many regions are inaccessible due to heavy flooding and damage to roads.
According to the Haitian Civil Protection, over 100,000 people have been affected by these storms. Over 320 people have died, many are missing and over 130 are injured. Currently, some 78,200 people are in temporary shelters and about 35,000 houses have been destroyed.
The recent onslaught of tropical storms and hurricanes has caused massive destruction in agriculture, only exacerbating the food crisis and political instability in the country. The immediate needs are for food, water, clothing and medicines.
Presbyterian World Service & Development (PWS&D) is responding to the crisis situation in Haiti through the Action by Churches Together (ACT) International network to distribute food, water purification tablets and hygiene kits to some of the most severely affected people. Relief efforts also focus on rehabilitation of income generating activities, providing school materials to children, assisting farmers in reviving their crops and establishing disaster risk reduction measures.