Emergency Aid Underway in Haiti as Hurricane Sandy Brings Heavy Rains

Even before rain from Hurricane Sandy pounded Haiti, causing significant flooding October 24-25, AmeriCares was ready, shipping emergency medicines and supplies to partners in advance of the storm. Today, in response to partner requests, we have 300 family emergencykits prepared, and are ready to deliver emergency water treatment, sanitation, medicines and medical supplies as needs arise.In addition, an emergency cholera treatment shipment is scheduled for delivery to partner Hope for Haiti within the next 24 hours. Additional cholera prevention supplies are on hand to fill critical needs if cholera cases spike in the aftermath of floods caused by the storm.“Cholera is always a threat when floodwaters rise,” said Brian Hoyer, AmeriCares Haiti Country Director. “The number of new cholera cases was already increasing before the storm brought more rain to Haiti.  Now, as access to sanitation and clean water decreases, we fear a spike in potentially fatal cholera cases even more.  That’s why advance preparation is so crucial.”This week’s advance shipments include:

• Essential medical aid delivered to Hopital General, Haiti’s primary public referral hospital, to fill a dwindling stock in the emergency division of the hospital.
• Medicines and supplies for emergency medical response were delivered to the national ambulance division of the Haiti Ministry of Health on October 24.
• A shipment of emergency relief and personal care items for hygiene kits for to help 2,500 people to be used during a targeted distribution to in the rural areas to the north of Port-au-Prince was delivered to partners on October 23.

Hurricane threat to coastal U.S.

Hurricane Sandy has grown in intensity and is expected to remain at hurricane strength as it moves north. While there is significant uncertainty about the Hurricane’s path, it has potential to cause significant damage in the coastal U.S. Our Emergency Response team will continue to monitor this storm closely and is prepared to respond to urgent needs as they arise.Long before the storm began to strengthen, AmeriCares had a hurricane preparedness initiative in place in Haiti, Latin America, and in the U.S., to put crucial medicines and relief supplies in the hands of response partners and disaster survivors as quickly as possible.Read MoreDonate Now