Tropical Storm Jeanne in Haiti
Preliminary Outline of Emergency Needs

23 September 2004

Introduction

Tropical storm Jeanne brought heavy rains to the Dominican Republic and Haiti. On Saturday 18 September the city of Gonaives in Haiti was hit by serious floods, leaving an estimated 80% of the city of 104,000 in urgent need of drinking water, food, shelter and medical care. Initial assessments by interagency teams with reported almost half the city was under 1.5-2.5 meters of water. The national authorities are speaking of 1000 confirmed deaths, while the death toll continues to rise. In addition to the floods in Gonaives, relatively minor floods occurred in towns and villages in the North, North-West and Artibonite provinces of Haiti. Some villages are completely cut off by high river levels and are in urgent need of food, fuel and medical supplies. Access to these villages is only possible by helicopter and assessment of the situation is difficult.

The infrastructure in Gonaives, already weakened by years of instability and chronic underdevelopment, is now almost destroyed. The municipal drinking water system is destroyed; there are no functioning health structures, and electric and telecommunication systems are extremely limited. Receding water levels have left large amounts of mud and wreckage in the streets. Fuel supplies are limited as are the possibilities of moving around in the city.

PAHO Response and Needs Assessment