OCHA - SANDY SITUATION REPORT #1

HAITI: TROPICAL STORM/HURRICANE SANDY SITUATION REPORT N°. 01 - (as of 25/10/2012)

This report is produced by OCHA Haiti in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the period from 23 to 25/10/2012.

HIGHLIGHTS

- The Red Alert in force in the southern departments has now been extended to all the departments in the country.

- Rapid assessment teams were sent out early today to evaluate damage across sectors and establish urgent needs.

- 08 confirmed deaths, 4 wounded and 3 missing person.

- 10,946 people evacuated to 65 emergency shelters.

- 863 homes flooded 8 destroyed and 224 damaged.

- 1,095 affected families.

- Mr. Nigel Fisher, the Humanitarian Coordinator met today with senior government officials – the Prime Minister, Minister of Interior, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Director of Civil Protection – to coordinate response to TS Sandy.

- The ICC group met today to identify gaps in response. It will meet again tomorrow.

SITUATION OVERVIEW:

TS Sandy picked up speed upon landfall in Cuba in the early hours of Thursday and is now considered a Category 2 Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane wind scale. The system is now moving on a northern track towards the Bahamas and beyond.

As TS Sandy hurtled towards the western Caribbean earlier in the week, the Government of Haiti (GoH) and its humanitarian partners met to the plan response and mitigate the impact. GoH issued an Orange Alert, which was subsequently upgraded to Red to cover first the southern departments and later the entire country.

GoH also activated the National Risk Management and Disaster Plan (PNGRD). The Direction de la protection civile (DPC) activated all its emergency structures nationwide and, with humanitarian partners, carried out sensitization campaigns to warn people living in areas at risk (seaside, ravines, river banks, mountain slopes, etc.) to prepare to evacuate, if necessary and to avoid crossing swollen rivers.

MINUSTAH’s Expanded Joint Operations Center (EJOC) was activated and its members across the country placed on alert status. MINUSTAH placed UNPOL on alert and advised its 10 Chief Regional Officers (CROs) to place their RJOC members on alert status.

OCHA remains in constant contact with humanitarian focal points across the country, to monitor the situation and coordinate a response where necessary. OCHA has also been present at the DPC since the onset of the emergency to assist the National Center for Emergency Operations (COUN) in the collection, management and dissemination of information to assist targeted and efficient response.

Although Haiti was not directly in TS Sandy’s path, its rain-laden outer bans have triggered extensive flooding with rivers rising across the country. Many communes of the southern departments – Sud, Sud-est, Nippes, Ouest, Grande Anse – and Artibonite have reportedly been flooded. Heavy thunderstorms are expected throughout the country today. Farms are under water in many areas of Southern Haiti, such as lle à Vache. Homes were flooded in some sections in, amonst others, Jeremie, Les Cayes and Baradères. In Les Cayes, MINUSTAH assisted in the evacuation of 50 patients from a flooded hospital, and dropped blankets and food rations for stranded residents on Ile la Bouée, a seaside settlement.

Storm surge and heavy seas swamped the coastal regions of the southern peninsula and parts of the Ouest and Artibonite departments. Flood water breached river banks - Voldrogue, Grande Anse, Dame Marie, Glacée (Grande Anse department), and the Duverger river in Fond des Negres (Nippes department) - and retaining walls in the Sud, Sud-est, Nippes, Ouest, Artibonite and Grande Anse departments, cutting off some communities.

Several trees fell and many houses lost their roofs. In southern communes prone to flooding, several roads were impassable, blocked by landslides (National Route 2 near Morne St. George) and downed trees. There are increasing reports of flash floods and potentially deadly mudslides. TS Sandy damage reports are mounting. The current number of deaths directly attributable to TS Sandy stands at 08.

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE CAMP COORDINATION AND CAMP MANAGEMENT

Prior to the storm, IOM, the CCCM Cluster and 10 NGO partners conducted initial field assessments in IDP camps in the West department and identified 1400 evacuation sites located in public buildings throughout the 10 administrative districts of Haiti with total capacity 240,972 persons.

During TS Sandy, IOM mobilized teams to provide evacuation shelter assistance for 5,000 persons, including 1,252 extremely vulnerable IDPs and their families who were assisted with accompanied evacuations from 12 high risk camps to 8 evacuation shelters in metropolitan Port-au-Prince. WFP and other humanitarian partners provided food rations to the evacuees.

Prior to the evacuation, IOM provided full sensitization coverage of all the vulnerable camps targeted for accompanied evacuation.

The CCCM cluster continues to prioritize awareness-raising activities informing people of the potential dangers associated with hurricanes and their aftermath. Awareness sessions were conducted in 224 of 450 camps by IOM in support of the DPC storm preparedness.

Contingency stocks comprise 51,000 emergency shelter kits, 53,000 bed nets, 121,000 jerry cans, 35,000 hygiene kits and 144,000 blankets.

HEALTH

According to PAHO/WHO, there were 08 deaths (1 in Grande-Anse, 2 in Ouest, 5 in Sud).

So far, PAHO/WHO has reported 100 new cases of cholera (46 in Petit Goave, 27 in Barradères, and 26 in Léogane), which may not be necessarily related to TS Sandy.

Ambulances have been sent to hospitals in all departments by the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) with the support of PAHO/WHO, except Jeremie.

LOGISTICS

Together with MINUSTAH, the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communication (MTPTC) is clearing and repairing Avenue Bolosse and 4th Avenue in Port-au-Prince.

Route Nationale # 2 remains cut at the level of Coteaux (Sud). The road between Les Cayes, and Leogane, which was cut, has been reopened.

WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE

No damages have been reported by the WASH sector.

DINEPA has prepositioned three tankers to supply water to the temporary shelters identified by the DPC and IOM for those evacuated from 12 camps which were most at risk in metropolitan Port-au-Prince.

In addition, UNICEF and DINEPA mobilized two vacuum trucks to serve as latrines installed by IOM in emergency shelters.

The Red Cross has pre-positioned at its 13 regional branches, supplies and equipment for cholera response to the needs of 15,000 families (aquatabs, ORS, soap, hygiene kits, etc.).

Although stocks should be sufficient now to meet the needs in all departments, they are running dangerously low. Stocks that were used to respond to the impact of TS Isaac in August are yet to be replenished. There is need to replace these immediately as a critical preparedness measure.

GENERAL COORDINATION

The Government of Haiti (GoH) activated the National Risk Management and Disaster Plan (PNGRD) and all the National Emergency Operations Centers in the 10 departments.

The National Emergency Coordination Center (COUN) has been fully activated. Supported by OCHA and UNDP, members of the COUN and COUDs have been meeting to assess the levels of preparedness, pre-positioned emergency stocks, resource mobilization, etc.

The Expanded Joint Operations Center (EJOC) has been activated and its members across the country placed on alert status. MINUSTAH placed UNPOL on alert and advised its 10 Chief Regional Officers (CROs) to place their RJOC members on alert status.

The Korean, Japanese and Brazilian units of MINUSTAH have been mobilized in Leogane, Arcahaie and metropolitan Port-au-Prince respectively to intervene in support of MTPTC. UNPOL and MINUSTAH military are on alert for any possible support to the Haitian National Police (HNP).OCHA is in constant contact with humanitarian focal points, UN agencies and NGOs across the country, to monitor the situation and coordinate response where necessary. The Emergency Joint Operations Center (EJOINT) has not been activated.

For further information, please contact:

George A. Ngwa, Communications Manager, OCHA Haiti, ngwaanuongong@un.org

Widlyn Dornevil, Public information officer, OCHA Haiti, dornevil@un.org

Rachelle Ellien, Public information officer, OCHA Haiti, elien@un.org

Guillaume Shneiter, Reporting officer, OCHA Haiti, shneiterG@un.org

For more information, please visit http://haiti.humanitarianresponse.info