Haiti, the poorest nation in this hemisphere was hammered by hurricane Hannah yesterday. Hannah is expected to make landfall along the Carolina coast on Saturday. This is the third storm to have battered and inundated the island in three weeks. The island is full of desolation, hunger and despair even during the best of times, but now there are hundreds trapped and hungry on roof tops awaiting rescue. The dead bodies of animals float around and decompose in the flood waters and there is no relief in sight.
As with Katrina three years ago in New Orleans, the fear is of the possible diseases that could spread. There is no food, water or clothing, Arnaud Dumas, 37 parish priest, was heard saying. There has been no food in two or three days. It has been impossible to provide a death toll because the flood waters have not receded recently.
As if this weren’t bad enough, hurricane Ike is now bearing down on the island as a category three storm with winds that could cause even more devastation and desolation. Relief efforts have not been able to reach the hardest hit part, the town of Gonaives, because they were being turned back by the lakes which had formed where the access roads used to be. This is the same area that was devastated in 2004 by tropical storm Jeanne. If the situation was desperate before, they are now on the brink of disaster.
At TicosLand.com, we say let’s show our solidarity and help in any way we can. We are sure that our readers in Costa Rica and all around the world are more than willing to help.
Tags: Costa Rica, Gonaives, Haiti, hannah, Hurricane, ike, ticosland.com
