hurricane effects in haiti

i heard a little about this in the news today, but there really hasn't been a whole lot of coverage overall. hurricanes gustav and hanna really tore up haiti a few days ago and they're really suffering big time. i received this in my inbox on wednesday from partners in health's listserve.




Partners In Health
September 3, 2008

Dear friends,

Haiti needs your help.
This morning, after watching images of howling wind and torrential rain tearing through Haiti, I received a note from a colleague in Haiti explaining the devastation that Hurricanes Gustav and Hanna left in their wakes. Loune Viaud, our Director of Operations in Haiti, explained that the situation is dire and the suffering extreme. She estimates that close to 10,000 people have been driven from their homes by floodwaters in Haiti’s Artibonite Valley, where we have recently expanded our operations to six new facilities.

We’ve received reports of families, doctors, and patients are stranded on roof tops as water floods homes, hospitals, and health centers and reports of social workers wading through nearly four feet of water hoping to get patients and their families to safety. While the effects are hard to quantify so soon after the disaster, there is a clear and desperate need both for emergency relief and for long-term assistance to address the vicious cycle of poverty, environmental degradation and disease, which is guaranteed to intensify in the aftermath of this crisis.
In an effort to stem the suffering of our patients, their families, and the communities we serve, PIH has taken some immediate action:

* Patients at the hospital in Gonaïves, who were sent to the rooftop as the wards filled with water, are being evacuated to Hôpital Saint Nicolas in Saint Marc.
* Our social work staff is doing whatever it takes to find our patients and their families in the most devastated areas and to ensure that they have all of the support and assistance they need.
* Organizational partnerships and community-level collaborations are underway to ensure that those who have been displaced or lost all of their belongings have food, water, housing, and a place off of the wet ground to sleep.
* Our hospitals and health centers are preparing for thousands of additional patient visits in the coming weeks and are planning long-term reconstruction and support efforts.

We ask you, now, during this time of tremendous suffering, to take action with us. Please help us keep our promises to the communities we serve as we provide additional services and support in the wake of this unforeseen, and certainly unbudgeted, disaster.

Please consider an additional gift to Partners In Health’s work in Haiti today so that we may respond swiftly during this time of crisis and continue to support our patients and their families in the months to come. Donate online and visit our website for more information and updates in the coming days

As always, thank you for your support. We cannot do this work without generous partners like you.

Sincerely,

Ophelia Dahl
Executive Director