South Florida Caribbean News: United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti is preparing to help up to half a million people in the impoverished Caribbean nation who could potentially be affected by Hurricane Tomas. Over the last 24 hours, the mission, known as MINUSTAH, along with the Haitian Government and relief partners, have joined forces to initiate contingency plans, mobilize stocks and identify gaps as the hurricane approaches, on top of managing the continuing response to the cholera epidemic and the devastating January earthquake.“This storm could not have come at a more difficult time,” said Nigel Fisher, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti. “Although we have made some extensive preparations and prepositioned stocks across the country, some crucial supplies have been badly depleted by ongoing needs, particularly the response to the ongoing cholera epidemic.”
As of last week, the Haitian health ministry has confirmed 4,649 hospitalizations and 305 deaths due to cholera, with cases having been confirmed in three of the country’s 10 departments. Mr. Fisher said that the UN is scaling up distributions in camps and sending truckloads of supplies down to Haiti’s southern coast, “but we must now race to mobilize everything else we need.”…
Hurricane Tomas on October 20, via NOAA
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