FILE/HAITI: Eathquake tops league of natural disasters which habitually hit the hurricane-prone nation

Record ID: 722441

  • Title: FILE/HAITI: Eathquake tops league of natural disasters which habitually hit the hurricane-prone nation
  • Date: 15th January 2010
  • Summary: PEOPLE CARRYING FURNITURE THROUGH WATER PERSON CARRYING BUNDLE BY SIDE OF WATER CHANNEL
  • Embargoed: 30th January 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
  • Reuters ID: LVABD2H3ZWQF9B0CYGDRV2VRYOV8
  • Story Text: Each year Haiti is threatened by seasonal tropical storms, and hurricanes generate storm surges and trigger landslides and flash floods.
    In late October 2007 Tropical Storm Noel lashed the poorest nation in the Americas.
    In Haiti's town of Jacmel, swollen rivers and mudslides sent mud and rocks pouring on to streets and into houses.
    At that time Haitians were still recovering from torrential rains that killed 31 people and made 1,000 homeless in the first two weeks of October.
    In 2008 four tropical storms and hurricanes ripped through Haiti, killing 800 people and leaving nearly one million homeless or in dire need of help.
    In September of that year residents of Gonaives struggled to obtain basic supplies of water and food for their families after Hurricane Ike had struck Haiti.
    Haiti was battered with more heavy rain and flooding in March, 2009.
    In Cite Soleil, a sprawling seaside shantytown in the capital, Port-au-Prince, people perched on their rooftops to escape the rising flood waters.
    Haiti is extremely vulnerable to flash floods and mudslides because most of its hillsides have been stripped bare. Cutting down trees to make charcoal to sell for fuel is a last resort for many rural Haitians who have no other income between harvests.
    The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June to November in the Caribbean, posing a constant threat to coastal communities.
    An average season has 10 tropical storms, of which six strengthen into hurricanes.
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