Alex Arger
Haiti Pleads For Help Due To Ongoing Gang Violence
Gang activity has halted critical services and curbed humanitarian aid as Haiti, already dealing with political instability, faces a cholera outbreak.
LEARN MOREPosted: 9:03 p.m. EDT Jun 5, 2023
Heavy flooding in Haiti has left at least 42 people dead and 11 missing, the country's disaster response agency said Monday after a weekend of storms.
More than 13,600 homes were lost because of the torrential downpours and mudslides. The worst of the storm hit Haiti's western region, including the capital, but tens of thousands of residents across the Caribbean nation were affected.
Though the weather has since improved, the damage has been done. Crops were affected, rivers burst into roads and major health care centers and schools were heavily damaged.
Aid agencies are trying to assist in providing food and shelter, but the country's prime minister has asked for international help.
Before the storm, nearly half of Haiti's population had already been in need of help because of the country's humanitarian crisis, worsened by gangs, a lack of food and cholera. Its $720 million Humanitarian Response Plan was underfunded, with only 20% of its budget received before the storm further worsened the crisis.
And this is just the beginning of the Atlantic hurricane season for the area that's been hard-hit with natural disasters in the past. In 2010, more than 200,000 people died in an earthquake. In 2021, a 7.2 earthquake left at least 1,297 dead, at least 5,700 injured and displaced thousands more.
"I am particularly concerned by this situation at a time when the Haitian population is already highly vulnerable," said Jean-Martin Bauer, Haiti's acting humanitarian coordinator.
