Worrying About Haiti

Six months after the earthquake that killed hundreds of thousands of people in Haiti there are still something like one to one and a half million people there living in tents. Haiti has experienced many hurricanes and tropical storms in the past, including four major ones in 2008. This year storm forecasts indicate a bad year. The season is from June 1 to November 30. There is probably not enough time to provide safe housing for those living in tents. There is also a problem of protecting people from landslides and flooding that accompany tropical storms in Haiti (in part as a result of deforestation). The rainy season is also typically the time of increased incidence of communicable diseases. Given the institutional weakness of Haitian society, I would guess there is little likelihood that there will be effective and massive action to protect the people at risk.

The flooded city of Gonaives after Hurricane Hanna, September 3, 2008.

Image credit: Lambi Fund of Haiti.