INCREASED DISASTER PLANNING KEY IN HAITI FOLLOWING STORM

(Port au Prince/New York, 30 September 2010): The storm of 24 September in Port au Prince that damaged or destroyed 15,000 tents in just 30 minutes underscores the vital importance of continued contingency planning and mitigation, according to the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, Nigel Fisher.

The storm, which struck without warning last Friday afternoon, lasted just 30 minutes but caused damage in 262 of the 1,300 camps that are still home to 1.3 million survivors of the January earthquake.

"We have feared such a storm - and worse - since the start of this response, and with the Government of Haiti have been planning accordingly," said Mr. Fisher. "We began assessments within minutes of the end of the storm, and the first supplies were being distributed just hours later. But there could be no clearer reminder of the terrible vulnerability of Haiti to natural disasters, and continuing to prioritise disaster preparedness is vital. In particular, we need to replenish the stocks we distributed over the last few days, especially of tarpaulins."

Initial reports suggest that those camps that had worked with international partners to implement effective mitigation strategies, including digging drainage channels, hurricane-proofing showers and toilets and ensuring tents and tarpaulins were securely tied, suffered less damage.

"We cannot prevent storms, but we can work to minimise the impact, and to ensure that we are able to respond if the worst happens," said Mr. Fisher. "We have worked closely with the Direction de la Protection Civile (DPC) in developing our plans and will continue to do so for the rest of this hurricane season and well into the next. It is especially important to remember that the whole country faces serious risks in this season, and thus we must continue to plan on a nationwide basis."

The humanitarian contingency plan has been developed to complement that developed by the DPC, the Haitian government body charged with planning for and responding to disasters. Organisations working on response have been helping camps plan and prepare for flooding and storms - the key risk they face - as well as supporting contingency planning processes across the country.

The rest of the country, where poverty is extreme and infrastructure poor, also remains acutely vulnerable, especially those areas still recovering from Hurricanes Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike, which between them killed over 800 people in 2008 and devastated large parts of Haiti.

Hurricane season lasts until the end of November and was originally predicted by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an American federal organization, to be one of the most severe on record.

Notes for editors: preparedness work ongoing by the humanitarian community includes the following:

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH): The WASH cluster has stockpiled supplies to ensure clean water and hygiene services to over 1.6 million people in the event of an emergency including water purification tablets, soap, hygiene kits, and buckets.

Logistics: Four major hubs are active in Gonaives, Jacmel, Cap Haitien and Port au Prince. The hubs are equipped with warehousing and transportation capacity.

Shelter: Shelter cluster agencies are working closely to ensure that sufficient emergency shelter material is available. Stocks have been prepositioned in high risk areas in Haiti as well as in warehouses in the region. Replacement of contingency stocks following the storm of 24 September is vital.

Communication: Comprehensive public information work has been carried out across the country and in camps by DPC supported by humanitarian partners using radio, SMS, print and face to face sensitization by hundreds of specially trained community mobilisers. This has covered everything including explaining how best to secure a tent and/or a tarpaulin.

Camp management: Over 180 assessments of sites at risk of flooding, landslides and heavy erosion have so far been carried out. 109 sites identified as at risk have been allocated to agencies for mitigation work to be carried out, and this work is ongoing. The mitigation work is divided among a range of partners as camps are assessed, engineering reports are received and precise details of mitigation work become available.

For further information, please call: OCHA-Haiti: Imogen Wall, +509 3491 2244, wall@un.org; OCHA-New York:
Stephanie Bunker, +1 917 367 5126, mobile +1 347 244 2106, bunker@un.org; Nicholas Reader, +1 212 963 4961, mobile +1 646 752 3117, reader@un.org, OCHA-Geneva: Elisabeth Byrs, +41 22 917 2653, mobile +41 79 473 4570, byrs@un.org

OCHA press releases are available at http://ochaonline.un.org or www.reliefweb.int

The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors