Urbanization in storm-hazard areas renders Haiti more vulnerable - Insight

Christian D Klose, senior research scientist at Think Geohazards, presents on IOP a research motivated by the need to find out why densely populated parts of Haiti have been more affected in recent years by tropical-storm hazards. The research findings show that Haiti has been experiencing development that has led to a non-uniform distribution of population density across the country. The population has increased drastically in the four largest cities: Port-au-Prince, Gonaïves, Cap-Haïtien and Port-de-Paix.

Population densities have increased to a great extent in regions where, historically, more tropical storms have occurred. Today, Haitians in areas such as Port-au-Prince and Gonaïves experience a risk of hazards associated with tropical cyclones that is 2–4 times greater than in other regions of the country, and than before 1950.

In conclusion, urbanization in and migration into storm-hazard prone areas seems to be a major driving force for Haiti's fragility. These findings may have major implications for Haiti's development. They also raise the question: is Haiti the only country in the western hemisphere in which urbanization is accelerating within storm-hazard prone regions?