I've been (thankfully) cooped up with some friends over the past couple of days in Petionville, in the hills above Port-au-Prince. Yesterday, during what was supposed to be the worst of the storm, I was questioning whether there was going to be any damage at all. We took a walk to the grocery store, ate breakfast out on the balcony, and generally waited around for an enormous storm that never seemed to arrive. It rained off and on, but where I was there was no wind to speak of. For me it was rather uneventful, which I am thankful for.
As usual, the people who live in the low-lying areas in Port-au-Prince (i.e. most people) struggled quite a bit more with the storm. The heaviest rains came after the hurricane had passed us, arriving early Saturday morning. Early morning reports have come out saying that today could be the worst day in terms of flooding. The ground is saturated and the rivers are already overflowing, so another couple inches of rain could be devastating. Seven people were killed yesterday in flooding - let's keep hoping that no more rain falls and that the country can make as quick a recovery as possible.
As always, thank you for checking in, staying informed, and standing with Haiti.
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Here are a couple of links to check out:
- My friend Ben's photo gallery from the storm.
- A good summary of the storm from the Associated Press.
- A brief look at Haiti's other disaster, cholera, and how it could be exacerbated by the flooding.
2 comments:
I am happy to hear that you are safe and well from that storm (I called my host family like a nervous Dona) but they were fine in the Cibao. Take care and I will keep praying for you guys.
Rain is such a double-edged sword in the desiccated areas you and I find ourselves in. We're waiting on the summer rains to start planting here, but will undoubtedly see much flooding as well. Keep on keepin' on, and good luck growing the petition!
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