home flooded

Major flooding in Haiti as thousands of families are affected.

Since May 8, 2016, several departments of Haiti, including the North, North West, North East, Artibonite, West, Central and Grand Anse have received heavy rainfall. The prolonged torrential rains that lasted over 24 hours have caused flooding and extensive damages to buildings, transport and livestock. The report of a landslide was received from the Morne Puilboreau on the side that faces the Artibonite Department. The river 'La Quinte' and Blockhaus (St. Marc) in the Lower Artibonite and the drains of Ceinture Biénac were reported to be flooded. Over 215 houses in the city of Baradère were affected. Traffic on the National #2 was disturbed. The Ministry of the Interior and Territorial Communities gave warning of persistent bad weather which could result saturated soils, increasing the risk of flooding, landslides and mudslides. A depression on the eastern part of Cuba has influenced the bad weather condition in the whole of the Caribbean region. During the first week of May, Haiti and the Dominican Republic have almost erased the deficit of water caused by drought conditions since the beginning of 2015, with vast flooding that has killed four people in Haiti and five people in the Dominican Republic and displaced thousands of others.

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Here is a picture of some homes under water as the community was swallowed by Lake Azuéi.

Lake Azuéi, the largest lake in Haiti, lies about 18 miles east of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince. Lake Azuéi (Lac Azuéi) is also known as Étang Saumâtre (mild saline pond). It is the second largest lake in Hispaniola, after Lake Enriquillo. The scientists are stunned by the constant rise of these two lakes, Lake Azuéi in Haiti and Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic. These lakes are swallowing up lands that are home to 400,000 people. Lake Azuéi rose so much between 2004 and 2009 that it consumed dozens of square miles. A 2008 estimate reveals that Lake Azuéi had flooded around 6,000 acres (about 15,000 hectares) of agricultural land in Haiti, and that is a big loss to a fragile economy. In the last ten years, Lake Enriquillo rose over incredible 37 feet, doubling in size, destroying the surrounding fragile ecosystem and swallowing at least 40,000 acres of farmland. Experts from all over the world have traveled to study these two lakes, but they are clueless; could not draw any conclusion on the lakes' rise. Some want to attribute it to the climate changes, or pollution, however, this proposition is counterintuitive, because as per the established scientific theories, ocean level rises with climate changes, but lakes always tend to shrink. Some of the common causes cited by the experts which could be responsible for the water level rise include deforestation, saturation of the soil or buildup of waste and sediment in the channels that are blocking the water outlets.

Some of the scientists feel that the 'Yaque Del Sur River' could be held responsible for the rise. More dams should have been built to control the flooding of agricultural canals, responsible for channeling water to the lakes. The Haitian government has no plan or rehabilitation package for the flood victims. Only a Florida-based Christian charity called 'Love a Child' provided few homes to the families who lost their houses to the Lake Azuéi whereas the Dominican government has built an entire town for the susceptible residents.

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What To Expect After A Flood In Haiti

Thousands of families in Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic have been displaced by flooding during a week long heavy rains and cluster of storms in the northern Caribbean. As per Haiti's Department of Civil Protection, near a dozen civilians have lost their lives, at least 6,000 families were flooded with the destruction of minimum 66 homes, a vast number of crops have been damaged, and many livestock were killed in Northern Haiti. Mudslides from the mountains have pushed many houses to no where. Since most of the disaster has gone unnoticed on the international scene, very few aid groups have come up to help. The Haitian Prime Minister has released US$741,718.50, as a fund for relief to Cap Haitien. Issues of food, water and shelter are now a much bigger problem than clothes and medicine. "For HAITI With Love", a Palm Harbor, Florida based organization is exhibiting the service of God's love--they are feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, healing the sick and providing shelter to the homeless.

Here is a list of thing that you can expect after a flood in Haiti:

Cholera

Homes flooded

Latrine overflow with feces everywhere

Mudslides, houses slipping off the mountain

Dead Animals representing a Health hazard

Vast number of crops damaged and livestock killed

Since people cook on charcoal, they are unable to cook

Watch out for animals that might have entered with the floodwaters

Some people will be missing as they are taken by the running water

Old home become unstable as seating water ruining their foundation

Many survivors will be displaced without food, water, clothes, electricity

Water level still increasing after rain as it's draining from the mountains

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This is a picture of a resident in Haiti managing to remove water from her house. This picture was taken during the passage of Hurricane Sandy in Haiti.

The Haitian government is helping with distribution of 10,000 food kits domestic and imported , 10,000 meals, 150,000 bottles of water.

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