Photos of Tropical Storm Isaac Destruction in Haiti

We reported a couple of weeks ago on the damage done to Heifer Haiti project participants’ farms and homes. Below is a collection of images captured by Heifer Haiti staff.

According to Ewaldy Estil, Heifer Haiti North/Artibonite/West Project Coordinator, the situation is very chaotic, and it’s difficult to see the bread fruit trees on the ground and houses collapsed. Community leaders said, “As we have three more months left in the hurricane season, we hope for no more natural catastrophes in this area. We have just faced five months of drought, and the first rain to come was with Hurricane Isaac.”

Heifer Haiti Country Staff Reports Loss of Animals, Farms from Tropical Storm Isaac

In the wake of Tropical Storm Isaac, Heifer International’s Haiti country team is reporting damage to several Heifer Haiti projects, including loss of animals, loss of and damage to farms and homes, as well as damage to one of the breeding centers.

Ewaldy Estil, northern field coordinator for Heifer Haiti, said the damage was greatest in the Southeast and Southwest departments, and that the country team is reaching out to Heifer project community leaders by phone, and is able to report the following thus far:

·       In the community of Gressier, where Heifer works with MOPLANDAH, 32 goats werekilled (eight from the breeding center and 24 that belonged to project families). The roof of the breeding center was also damaged.

·       In Petit Goave, where Heifer works with AIFO, one bull was killed and 86 smallfarms were destroyed. Irrigation canals were littered by debris.

·       In Montrouis, where Heifer works with Tet Kole, the water irrigation system for the forage crops around the breeding center was damaged, and one goat from the breeding center was killed.

·       In Ivwa, leaders reported that 50 houses were destroyed, and 10 homes built byHeifer had their roofs damaged or destroyed.

·       In the region of Artibonite (Lester and Marchand Dessalines), where Heifer is working with RACPABA, crops were lost.

·       On Lake Peligre in the center of the country, where Heifer is working with ACDELP on a cage-fishing project, fingerlings were killed by excessive sedimentation in the lake.

·       Information is pending from Gros Morne.

Tropical Storm Isaac swept over the island Saturday, dumping torrential rains on the country and destroying several tent cities where survivors and refugees from the January 2010 earthquake were living. Heifer country staff continues to assess the situation and communicate with project leaders and participants, so more information will be shared as it becomes available.

Hurricane Isaac Damages Breeding Centers in Heifer Haiti

Tropical Storm Isaac, which dumped torrential rains on Haiti and flattened tent camps housing survivors of the January 2010 earthquake, damaged some Heifer International breeding centers in the country and killed some participants’ livestock, according to Hervil Cherubin, Heifer Haiti country director.

Isaac’s rain and winds lashed Haiti’s southern coast on Saturday, flooding parts of the capital Port-au-Prince and ripping through flimsy resettlement camps that house more than 350,000 survivors of the 2010 earthquake.  Fueled by warm Gulf waters, it is forecast to strengthen into a Category 2 hurricane with 100-mph (160-kph) winds and hit the U.S. coast somewhere between the Florida Panhandle and New Orleans at midweek.

A team from Heifer is evaluating the situation and assessing damage. More information will be shared as it becomes available.

Heifer International Haiti Staff prepare for Tropical Storm Isaac

Children in Haiti Benefit from Heifer REACH ProjectAs Tropical Storm Isaac approaches Haiti, Heifer International’s Haiti country office is taking precautions to prepare for the tropical storm that is forecast to bring as much as 20 inches of rain to portions of the country. Heifer’s offices in Haiti closed at noon on Friday so that staff could prepare for the approaching storm. We are continually monitoring the situation, and we will be ready to determine a response once Tropical Storm Isaac has passed over Haiti.

Heifer has been committed to development work in Haiti for more than 12 years. Following the 2010 earthquake that caused widespread destruction, Heifer launched its REACH (Rural Entrepreneurs for Agricultural Cooperation in Haiti) project to help rehabilitate and change the lives of more than 20,000 Haitian families. Heifer remains committed to this island nation that has seen more than its share of natural disasters.

Learn more about Heifer’s preparations for Tropical Storm Isaac here.