Refugees Homes Destroyed By Further Storms
The unexpected, potent storm that cut through Haiti’s troubled capital demolished 1000s of tents in the destitute camps where over 1.3 million people live 8 months following the earthquake that demolished their houses, shelter representatives reported Saturday.
Five people were reported dead following Friday afternoon’s storm with hundreds injured. Initial U.N. assessments had over 2,000 tents destroyed or ruined; international shelter authorities believed that total could rise over 5,000 once assessments are concluded.
The flimsiness of tarps and tents, used for temporary accommodation, since the January 12 earthquake killed at least 230,000 people along with leaving millions destitute has added to the storm’s impact. Hundreds of thousands of households still live on the streets of Port-au-Prince waiting for short-term homes or cash to start rebuilding.
Rebuilding has hardly commenced regardless of enormous amounts of money pledged for Haiti in the aftermath of the inital devastation. Less than 15 % of cash guaranteed at the U.N. donor’s gathering in March has actually been made available. The United States, which contributed over than $1.1 billion in relief aid following the earthquake, has not provided any of its promised long term cash.
Wooden as well as metallic short-term shelters fared significantly better in the hurricane, suffering hardly any damage. However not many of those displaced by the earthquake have them.
