Overview
Due to its geographical location, governance weakness and the great poverty, the Republic of Haiti is ranked 4th among the countries most affected by recurring destabilizing events. Confronted annually with hydro-meteorological events (hurricanes, storms, flooding etc.), the country is considered the most vulnerable of all Caribbean states. Over the past four decades, natural disasters have caused economic losses of around 2% of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The last major event was the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit the Southern peninsula on August 14, 2021.
The UN has published the 2022 Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) and a Humanitarian Response Plan updated 2021-2022 (PRH) for Haiti on March 11 and April 14 2022, respectively. The HNO 2022 identifies approximately 4.9 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Haiti, which represents an increase of about 500,000 people compared to HNO 2021. Food insecurity, political instability, violence linked to the activities of gangs, limited access to essential services and exposure to natural hazards (including earthquakes and tropical storms in August 2021) have further increased humanitarian needs in 2022. (https://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/ha-ti-aper-u-humanitaire-au-5-mai-2022).
| Disasters, Conflicts, and Migration | ||
|---|---|---|
| Natural Hazards | Yes / No | Comments / Details |
| Drought | Yes | Some parts of the country affected, see the EMDAT link below for details. |
| Earthquakes | Yes |
Potential danger, see the EMDAT link below for details.. On August 14, 2021, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake with epicenter about 13 km southeast of Petit-Trou-de-Nippes struck the departments of Nippes. South and Grand'Anse. This earthquake caused the death of 2,246 people, as well as the destruction or significant damage to more than 115,000 houses, thus affecting at least 800,000 people, 650,000 of whom requiring a response. humanitarian aid (OCHA). The DTM and DGPC estimate that at least 38,777 people have been displaced to assembly sites by the earthquake, of which 22,646 remain displaced as of April 2022. |
| Epidemics | Yes |
Covid-19 is still a public health threat in the country. From the beginning of the Pandemic until April 13 2022, Haiti has a total of 30,703 confirmed COVID-19 cases and a total of 835 deaths. Based on WHO data, less than 20% of the population has been vaccinated against COVID 19. |
| Extreme Temperatures | Yes | There is more than a 25% chance that at least one period of prolonged exposure to extreme heat, resulting in heat stress, will occur in the next five years. Project planning decisions, project design, and construction methods should take into account the level of extreme hazard. (https://thinkhazard.org/en/report/108-haiti/EH) |
| Flooding | Yes | During rainy season, the EMDAT link below for details |
| Insect Infestation | N/A | N/A |
| Mudslides | Yes | During the rainy season roads may be difficult to access and are often cut by land slides. |
| Volcanic Eruptions | N/A | N/A |
| High Waves / Surges | N/A | Potential danger |
| Wildfires | N/A | N/A |
| High Winds | Yes | Hurricanes |
| Other Comments | Haiti's geographical situation, together with its meteorological and economic conditions and weak infrastructure, makes the country vulnerable to natural disasters. Even small events can have serious consequences. | |
| Man-made Issues | ||
| Civil Strife | Yes | Given unstable political situation, the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) was established by Security Council Resolution 2476 of June 25, 2019 and deployed under Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter. |
| International Conflict | N/A | N/A |
| Internally Displaced Persons | Yes | Internal displacement has been mainly caused by natural disaster and insecurity caused by clashes between armed gangs. |
| Refugees Present | N/A | N/A |
| Landmines / UXO Present | N/A | N/A |
| Other Comments |
Natural hazards represent a more serious hazard for Haiti, but its political and economic situation has the potential to deteriorate any time. According to latest Integrated Food Phase Classification (IPC) report, the global standard for measuring food insecurity, some 4.5 million Haitians are projected to be in severe hunger and of these more than 1.3 million are likely to be at 'emergency' level by June 2022. (https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/details-map/en/c/1155096/) |
|
For more detailed database on disasters by country, please see the Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters: EMDAT website information for Haiti
Calamities and Seasonal Affects
|
Seasonal Affects on Transport |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Transport |
Comments |
From (month) to (month) |
|
Primary Road Transport |
Rainy and Hurricane Season could affect road transport |
Apr - Nov |
|
Secondary Road Transport |
Rainy and Hurricane Season could affect road transport |
Apr - Nov |
|
Rail Transport |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Air Transport |
In case of hurricanes |
Jun - Nov |
|
Waterway Transport |
In case of hurricanes |
Jun - Nov |
Seasonal weather changes can have an impact on delivery operations. Usually, all major towns are accessible all year round except in the case of heavy rains and/or the event of hurricanes by road and bridges, if the security situation does not pose threats on the accessibility Bridges and roads could be washed away and roads could be impassable for weeks. WFP ,the main UN agencies and NGOs prepositions stock at departmental level each year, in order to avoid an interruption of the supply chain in case of accessibility problems. WFP also prepositions off-road trucks on the other side of the possible road blocks as contingency measure during the Hurricane Season to allow a timely and effective response.
Capacity and Contacts for In-Country Emergency Response and Preparedness for Emergencies
Government
Haiti is one of the most disaster prone countries in the region. Given the existing political and economic problems, Haiti’s overall capacity to respond to emergencies is limited. This has been a factor amplified the effects of disasters. In July 2017, the Minister of the Interior and Local Authorities, at the official launch of the work to develop the legal framework of the National Risk and Disaster Management System (SNGRD in French). The General Directorate of Civil Protection (DGPC in French) is the operational body of the SNGRD. In the year of 2019 a National Disaster Risk Management Plan 2019 - 2030 was developed and published (https://www.mict.gouv.ht/plan-national-de-gestion-des-risques-et-de-desastres-2019-2030/ ). This plan was developed to guide a nationally coordinated emergency response and build up a system of resilience through:
- Improve knowledge of disaster risks in all their dimensions at the central, departmental, municipal and local levels;
- Improve disaster risk governance through policy, institutional and legal framework;
- Develop and use sustainable and innovative financial mechanisms to increase the resilience of communities and institutions and reduce disaster risk factors;
- Effectively ensure preparation, response and rapid post-disaster recovery through the strengthening of the technical, material and financial capacities of national, departmental, municipal and local institutions in charge of disaster management.
Outside an emergency, during "ordinary times", the National Risk and Disaster Management Committee (CNGRD) sets the policies for the National Risk Management System (SNGR). It consists of a President (Prime Minister), two vice-presidents (the Minister of Interior and the Minister of Environment) and other ministers as members. Technical committees, are established to analyze the different factors of risk (threat, vulnerability) and the application to the implementation of educational tools, land use, the formulation of standards and building codes, etc. These contributions are used to prepare the means and protocols for action, alert, organization and procedures to allow rehabilitation and rapid recovery and safe quality of life after emergencies and disasters.
In times of crisis the SPGRD turns into
a Centre d'Operation d'Urgence
National (COUN), the departmental committee
of Civil Protection in Departmental Emergency Operations Centre and
the same happens at communal level, is called Centre
d'Operation d'Urgence Départemental (COUD) in order
to manage the crisis from the closest point of coordination.
An important role is also played by the Haitian Red Cross, that can count on an extended presence throughout the country and on relevant support from the International Federation of the Red Cross and different national societies.
As far as governmental entities are concerned, the local level has now some means to undertake response activities quickly such as alert and evacuation, and limited response to handle some emergencies more independently. However, more financial, policy and technical supports are required from central level.
Humanitarian Community
The members of the international community have different but complementary capabilities for preparedness and disaster response. In general, the international community has highly technical and specialized and assets available for the management of risk and disaster. With offices and projects throughout Haiti, the international community is generally present during crisis and non-crisis time.
Since 2020, the UN family in Haiti is comprised of 19 agencies, funds and programmes and the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) (https://haiti.un.org/en/about/about-the-un) NGOs and religious communities have also an important role to play in relief operations. According to the latest survey conducted by OCHA in May 2022, there are 73 organizations have operational presence in the country. (https://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/haiti-presence-physique-des-organisations-au-8-juin-2022).
For information on Haiti Humanitarian Background contact details, please see the following links:
4.1 Haiti Government Contact Lists
4.2 Haiti Humanitarian Agency Contact List
