”We are preparing for the worst,” says General Secretary Atle Sommerfeldt.
1.3 million people are still living in tented camps, in cardboard boxes and under plastic sheeting after a large earthquake hit the poor country in January 2010. Now the pressed, stressed population of Haiti is now threatened by the weather: the latest forecasts predict that the tropical storm may develop into a hurricane on Thursday.
”Regardless of whether Tomas hits Haiti as a tropical storm or a hurricane, a direct hit on Haiti is bound to cause large-scale destruction, and may even push the island state’s population into an even deeper state of crisis,” says Sommerfeldt.
The tropical storm is expected to bring with it large quantities of heavy rain, which may prompt landslides and fuel the spread of the cholera epidemic which has already claimed hundreds of lives and made thousands unwell. Flooding is possible.
”In a flood situation, water systems will overflow, mixing safe water with unsafe water and polluting drinking sources. In such a situation we can only expect cholera to spread quickly. NCA and our ACT Alliance partners in Haiti are now mobilizing to the max to ensure we have water purification and sanitation equipment ready in all of the camps where we are working so that we can assist where required as soon as necessary. We have increased our team in Haiti, and we are monitoring needs from day to day. We have rapid response personnel on standby,” says Sommerfeldt.
Contact:
- Atle Sommerfeldt, General Secretary, tel. 917 55 112
- Laurie MacGregor, press officer, tel. 932 42 489