INSECURITY IN THE COUNTRY IS FURTHER COMPLICATING EMERGENCY OPERATIONS. After the dramatic earthquake that hit the country yesterday, 14/08/2021, at 8.30 am local time, Caritas Haiti has already mobilised its teams to reach the most affected areas, which are the departments of Grande-Anse (Diocese of Jérémie), Sud (Diocese of Les Cayes) and Nippes (Diocese of ...
Over 800 people died as a direct result of the hurricane in Haiti, but most people are facing a hellish survival.
Seeing the destruction wrought by Hurricane Matthew in Haiti’s South and Grand Anse is beyond anything that we could have imagined. The land has been washed away by the storm says Fr. Jean-Hervé Francois, director general of Caritas Haiti.
Caritas is launching an international appeal for 250,000 euros for hurricaine-hit Haiti. Over 15,500 people fled their homes and 350,000 need help.
Hurricane Matthew is battering the Caribbean nation with high winds, heavy rains and storm surges. The government has declared a state of red alert. “The effect of the hurricane in the south of Haiti is catastrophic,” said Fr Jean-Hervé François, director of Caritas Haiti.
Ambassador Ken Hackett, the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, remembers the Haiti earthquake 6 years ago when was with Catholic Relief Services.
Catholic Relief Services (a US member of the Caritas confederation) has been working in Haiti for 50 years. The morning after the 12th January 2010 earthquake, CRS staff members who had lived through the disaster themselves were aiding survivors.
On 12 January 2010, an earthquake devastated Haiti. In less than one minute, almost half of the homes in Port-au-Prince and its surroundings were reduced to dust. An outpouring of generosity by Catholics worldwide meant that Caritas could both respond to immediate needs and rebuild for the long term.
The Haiti earthquake was one of the biggest emergencies Caritas has ever dealt with. Over 300,000 people died as a result of the massive tremor and over a million people were without a home.
During Haiti’s earthquake more than a million people lost their homes and the demand for emergency shelter was enormous. Cordaid (a Dutch member of the Caritas confederation) made it one of their long-term priorities to provide people with earthquake- and hurricane-proof housing.