I know I am not going crazy and I know I am not the only one around asking why all this on Haiti? 4 disaster in a month! Even the most powerful countries in the world can not take it let alone Haiti. What is going on? Has God forsaken us when we need him the most? I surely know that if we seek him he will make himself available. I might not know the reason why all this happen, cause a lot of innocents people die but one thing I am sure of is that he says do not worry, if he can take care of the lily and the sparrow he surely is watching over us. May be this is the part of the story where he is not walking by our side, nor in front of us but rather he is holding us helping us go through this hard time.
Please if you can help, do not hesitate to do so> Fine a reliable organization though to make sure your efforts go where it should be. I thought it would be really appropriate to end the blog with this song: His eye is on the sparrow.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Leave your kind thoughts for Haiti
As you all knwo by now this past September was a total disaster for Haiti. The country got hit by 4 sucessive hurricanes and thundestorms. I am reserving this particular blog as a way for you to come and leave a message for Haiti and the Haitian people all over the world. I reserve the right to deny your post if I judge it inappropriate and/or direspectful. Thanks for your participation. I have posted with a song from a movie by Tyller Perry, Diary of a mad black woman: "Father can you hear me" please enjoy. Remenber to scroll down and turn off the default music when you want t hear /view a video.
Once again thanks for your thoughts.
Once again thanks for your thoughts.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Meet the president of Haiti
René Préval - son of agronomist Claude Préval and Céline Talleyrand - was born in Port-au-Prince on January 17, 1943. He is father to two daughters, Dominique and Patricia.
He studies agronomy in Belgium at Gembloux and Louvain and geothermal sciences at the University of Pisa in Italy.
Upon his return in Haiti in 1975, he works at the Minister of Mine and Energy.
In 1988, he opens a private practice and a bakery.
Starting in 1976 René Préval joins the fight against Jean Claude Duvalier’s dictatorial regime in favor of the establishment of democracy in Haiti. He then becomes a member of resistance groups against the Duvalier regime, a founding member of the association called “Honor and Respect” fighting for the strict observance of the 1987 Constitution and presides over the “Comité Pa Bliye” (Let’s not forget committee) dedicated to missing persons’ cases that occurred during the Duvalier regime .
On the 13th of February 1991, René Préval becomes the Prime Minister (and, also at the same time Minister of Interior and Defense) of President Jean Bertrand Aristide, winner in 1990 of the first free election in Haiti since independence in 1804. However, René Préval goes into exile in September 1991 when Haiti’s first truly democratic experience is interrupted by a coup d’état undertaken by the military. He first seeks refuge in various embassies in Port-au-Prince before leaving for Washington where he resides until October 1994.
Upon the return of the constitutional Government in 1994, René Préval becomes Director of the Economic and Social Assistance Fund (FAES).
In December 1995, René Préval is elected President of Haiti for a five year-term. He takes the oath of office on February 7, 1996.
In February 2001, upon completing his term, René Préval retires to Marmelade, his father’s hometown, and there he dedicates himself to local development activities.
As a candidate for the 2006 presidential elections, René Préval scores a first-round win on February 7, 2006. He is sworn into office on the 14th of May 2006 as the 55th President of Haiti.
source: http://www.haiti.org/president_of_haiti.htm
Official Holidays in Haiti
January 1: Independence Day
January 2: Ancestors' Day
May 1: Agriculture and Labor Day
May 18: Flag and University Day
October 17: Anniversary of the Death of Jean-Jacques Dessalines
October 24: United Nations Day
November 1: All Saints Day
November 2: All Souls Day
November 18: Battle of Vertières' Day
December 25: Christmas Day
Legal / Religious / Traditional Holidays (some dates vary according to the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church)
Carnival (Monday through Ash Wednesday)
Good Friday
Pan-American Day: April 14
Ascension Thursday
Feast of the Assumption
Corpus Christi
January 2: Ancestors' Day
May 1: Agriculture and Labor Day
May 18: Flag and University Day
October 17: Anniversary of the Death of Jean-Jacques Dessalines
October 24: United Nations Day
November 1: All Saints Day
November 2: All Souls Day
November 18: Battle of Vertières' Day
December 25: Christmas Day
Legal / Religious / Traditional Holidays (some dates vary according to the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church)
Carnival (Monday through Ash Wednesday)
Good Friday
Pan-American Day: April 14
Ascension Thursday
Feast of the Assumption
Corpus Christi
Saturday, September 13, 2008
WARNING ! GRAPHIC IMAGES HURRICANE DEVASTATION IN CABARET
I got this image from a Haitian tv station. It is very graphic and not suitable for children. I can not emphacize enough these images are graphics and show dead bodies. At anytime if this is too much for you please stop the video. I though about a lot before putting it up.
Thanks to all for you care in any shapes or forms, may God bless you all! Keep on praying and helping Haiti in anyways you can.
HAitians living abroad this is a message for you: Ann fè tout sa nou kapab pou nou ede peyi-a menm si nou pa ka voye lajan, gaye nouvèl! Spread the word and let everybody know about what's going on! You might not be able to help financially, just try to do something.
God bless!!!
Now, if you decide to watch these images, please understand this is the reality people are living in! You draw your own conclusion! In case you decide to help, they are numerous reputable organization in the US or all over the world that are helping and one of them is the Red Cross, make sure you verify before you donate. Sadly some people take advantage of this horrible catastrophy to scam people.
Thanks to all for you care in any shapes or forms, may God bless you all! Keep on praying and helping Haiti in anyways you can.
HAitians living abroad this is a message for you: Ann fè tout sa nou kapab pou nou ede peyi-a menm si nou pa ka voye lajan, gaye nouvèl! Spread the word and let everybody know about what's going on! You might not be able to help financially, just try to do something.
God bless!!!
Now, if you decide to watch these images, please understand this is the reality people are living in! You draw your own conclusion! In case you decide to help, they are numerous reputable organization in the US or all over the world that are helping and one of them is the Red Cross, make sure you verify before you donate. Sadly some people take advantage of this horrible catastrophy to scam people.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Ike update!
by Isabel Sanchez Sun Sep 7, 5:29 PM ET
HAVANA (AFP) - Hurricane Ike took aim at Cuba Sunday after leaving 20 people dead in Haiti, where fatalities from a succession of powerful storms in the past few weeks now tops 600.
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Ike was downgraded Sunday from a Category Four hurricane to a still potentially devastating Category Three, as Cuba evacuated hundreds of thousands in a frantic bid to evade the storm's fury.
Officials in Haiti meanwhile, continued aid operations in the flood-stricken town of Gonaives, which has borne the brunt of recent flooding and seen untold misery and destruction .
Ike plowed across the low-lying Turks and Caicos overnight as a powerful Category Four storm, causing some injuries and extensive damage on the British territory and tourist haven, Bahamas radio reported.
The hurricane then raked the southeastern Bahamian island of Great Inagua, toppling trees, blowing off roofs, causing an island-wide power failure and forcing many of its one thousand residents to seek refuge in shelters, a resident told AFP by telephone.
With winds decreasing slightly to 120 miles (195 kilometers) per hour, the storm was forecast to roar ashore in eastern Cuba Sunday night as a Category Three "major hurricane" on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale.
But the immediate concern was its effect on Haiti , where a humanitarian crisis was unfolding after flooding from Ike and previous storms Hanna and Gustav left around 600 people dead and thousands in desperate need of food, clean water and shelter.
With winds near 215 kilometers (135 miles) per hour, the storm's outer bands lashed Haiti's vulnerable northwest coast with torrential rain.
Hundreds of bodies were found in flood-prone Gonaives, a town of 350,000 in northwestern Haiti, after a five-meter (16-foot) wall of water and mud engulfed much of the town. The storm followed on the heels of Hanna, last week's massive storm.
United Nations peacekeepers on Saturday evacuated several thousand residents from Gonaives, a local official said, but thousands more are still awaiting relief.
Some 650,000 Haitians have been affected by the flooding, including 300,000 children, and the task of delivering crucial aid has been complicated by dismal transport conditions, according to UNICEF.
Officials said 200,000 people have been without food and clean water, many for four days.
At least 20 people were found dead Sunday in Cabaret, 13 of them children, when a torrent of muddy water raged through the village, the region's parliamentarian said.
"What has happened here is unimaginable," deputy Pierre-Gerome Valcine told AFP from Cabaret, 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of the capital Port-Au-Prince.
"Many homes were destroyed in Cabaret, and we have seen some bodies of children in the water," added a journalist for UN radio who spent the night on the roof of his house.
Massive flooding over the past week in the poorest country in the Americas has triggered a humanitarian crisis that was worsening by the day -- and prompted prayers from Pope Benedict XVI.
"I want to remember the dear population of Haiti, greatly distressed in recent days by passing hurricanes," Benedict told pilgrims on the Italian island of Sardinia.
Continuing stormy weather hampered relief efforts Sunday, when heavy rains led to the collapse of a key bridge which severed the only viable land route to Gonaives.
The bridge gave way overnight at the town of Mirebalais in central Haiti, forcing three trucks loaded with emergency supplies and bound for Saint-Marc, where thousands of desperate flood refugees from Gonaives were crowding into shelters, to turn back, according to a World Food Programme official.
Many bridges in other areas of Haiti have also collapsed, homes have been washed away and crops ravaged.
Meanwhile, more than 600,000 people in Cuba began evacuations Sunday ahead of the Ike's arrival, including 9,210 foreign tourists who were moved out of Varadero, a tourism mecca about 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of Havana.
Cuban Vice President Jose Ramon Machado, meeting with authorities in Holguin, urged people to "carry out the evacuation in an orderly and speedy fashion," and to take steps to "avoid the loss of life."
Ike was expected to eventually careen past Florida into the Gulf of Mexico and sweep toward Louisiana and the storm-battered city of New Orleans as early as Tuesday.
HAVANA (AFP) - Hurricane Ike took aim at Cuba Sunday after leaving 20 people dead in Haiti, where fatalities from a succession of powerful storms in the past few weeks now tops 600.
ADVERTISEMENT
Ike was downgraded Sunday from a Category Four hurricane to a still potentially devastating Category Three, as Cuba evacuated hundreds of thousands in a frantic bid to evade the storm's fury.
Officials in Haiti meanwhile, continued aid operations in the flood-stricken town of Gonaives, which has borne the brunt of recent flooding and seen untold misery and destruction .
Ike plowed across the low-lying Turks and Caicos overnight as a powerful Category Four storm, causing some injuries and extensive damage on the British territory and tourist haven, Bahamas radio reported.
The hurricane then raked the southeastern Bahamian island of Great Inagua, toppling trees, blowing off roofs, causing an island-wide power failure and forcing many of its one thousand residents to seek refuge in shelters, a resident told AFP by telephone.
With winds decreasing slightly to 120 miles (195 kilometers) per hour, the storm was forecast to roar ashore in eastern Cuba Sunday night as a Category Three "major hurricane" on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale.
But the immediate concern was its effect on Haiti , where a humanitarian crisis was unfolding after flooding from Ike and previous storms Hanna and Gustav left around 600 people dead and thousands in desperate need of food, clean water and shelter.
With winds near 215 kilometers (135 miles) per hour, the storm's outer bands lashed Haiti's vulnerable northwest coast with torrential rain.
Hundreds of bodies were found in flood-prone Gonaives, a town of 350,000 in northwestern Haiti, after a five-meter (16-foot) wall of water and mud engulfed much of the town. The storm followed on the heels of Hanna, last week's massive storm.
United Nations peacekeepers on Saturday evacuated several thousand residents from Gonaives, a local official said, but thousands more are still awaiting relief.
Some 650,000 Haitians have been affected by the flooding, including 300,000 children, and the task of delivering crucial aid has been complicated by dismal transport conditions, according to UNICEF.
Officials said 200,000 people have been without food and clean water, many for four days.
At least 20 people were found dead Sunday in Cabaret, 13 of them children, when a torrent of muddy water raged through the village, the region's parliamentarian said.
"What has happened here is unimaginable," deputy Pierre-Gerome Valcine told AFP from Cabaret, 35 kilometers (22 miles) north of the capital Port-Au-Prince.
"Many homes were destroyed in Cabaret, and we have seen some bodies of children in the water," added a journalist for UN radio who spent the night on the roof of his house.
Massive flooding over the past week in the poorest country in the Americas has triggered a humanitarian crisis that was worsening by the day -- and prompted prayers from Pope Benedict XVI.
"I want to remember the dear population of Haiti, greatly distressed in recent days by passing hurricanes," Benedict told pilgrims on the Italian island of Sardinia.
Continuing stormy weather hampered relief efforts Sunday, when heavy rains led to the collapse of a key bridge which severed the only viable land route to Gonaives.
The bridge gave way overnight at the town of Mirebalais in central Haiti, forcing three trucks loaded with emergency supplies and bound for Saint-Marc, where thousands of desperate flood refugees from Gonaives were crowding into shelters, to turn back, according to a World Food Programme official.
Many bridges in other areas of Haiti have also collapsed, homes have been washed away and crops ravaged.
Meanwhile, more than 600,000 people in Cuba began evacuations Sunday ahead of the Ike's arrival, including 9,210 foreign tourists who were moved out of Varadero, a tourism mecca about 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of Havana.
Cuban Vice President Jose Ramon Machado, meeting with authorities in Holguin, urged people to "carry out the evacuation in an orderly and speedy fashion," and to take steps to "avoid the loss of life."
Ike was expected to eventually careen past Florida into the Gulf of Mexico and sweep toward Louisiana and the storm-battered city of New Orleans as early as Tuesday.
Hurricane Ike Update
By JONATHAN M. KATZ, Associated Press Writer
Sun Sep 7, 10:00 PM ET
GONAIVES, Haiti - Haitians took to their roofs to escape rising floodwaters for the second time in a week on Sunday as squalls from Hurricane Ike killed 58 people and collapsed a bridge that cut the last land route into the starving city of Gonaives.
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All but one of Sunday's victims came in the Cabaret area north of Port-au-Prince, according to civil defense director Maria-Alta Jean Baptiste. She said another three bodies were found in Gonaives, victims of an earlier storm. They pushed Haiti's death toll to at least 319 from four storms that have hit the country in less than a month.
Witnesses in Cabaret said floodwaters rushed into homes in the middle of the night, crushing walls and reaching chest-high levels before receding Sunday morning and leaving everything caked in mud.
In the Always Funeral Home, 21 mud-crusted bodies were piled in a small room, unclaimed. Two of them were pregnant, one still clutching a small girl to her chest.
"We took refuge in one room and waited there all night and prayed," said Sister Marie Denise, who was trapped by waist-high waters in the house she shares with four nuns. They evacuated to the nearby school they run after the waters receded.
"We don't know if one of our girls is among the dead," she said of her students.
The rain had stopped by late afternoon, but authorities feared flooding could continue as water collecting in the mountains continued to run downhill. Much of Gonaives remained inaccessible even to United Nations peacekeepers in trucks because of rising waters and strong currents.
As the peacekeepers delivered aid to the parts of Gonaives they could still reach, scores of young men splashed alongside, begging for help. One called out with a bullhorn: "Hey, hey, my friend. Give me some water."
Food and fuel prices both skyrocketed, with gasoline reaching 500 Haitian gourdes (US$13) a gallon.
The U.N. beefed up security in Gonaives, which was isolated and pummeled by rains for four days last week during Tropical Storm Hanna. The city was cut off again Sunday when flooding caused the collapse of the Mirebalais bridge in central Haiti.
Relief workers in Gonaives said they had enough emergency food supplies for the next couple of days, but distributing it to the needy became ever more complicated.
A line of 3,000 people snaked around a warehouse-turned-U.N. shelter, and several hundred pushed and shoved to break down the door, only to be quickly subdued by Bolivian troops in riot gear.
Workers spent four hours handing our water and high-protein biscuits. But people were growing tired of relief food and started to demand rice, which has gone up 60 percent in price since the storms.
"We would like to eat some real food," said shelter resident Esaie St. Juste. "Rice, beans, sardines. Haitian people like real food."
Above Haiti's coastal floodplain, in the Artibonite Valley, authorities prepared to open an overflowing dam, inundating more homes and possibly causing lasting damage to Haiti's "rice bowl," a farming area whose revival is key to rescuing the starving country.
"Please evacuate as soon as you can," Agriculture Minister Joanas Gay urged Artibonite residents on state-run Radio Nationale.
Rains also pelted Haiti's northern coast as the storm made its way from the Bahamas west toward Cuba. But a U.N. humanitarian aid coordinator said there were no reports of major flooding, deaths or evacuations there.
___
Associated Press Writer Alexandra Olson in Cabaret contributed to this report.
Sun Sep 7, 10:00 PM ET
GONAIVES, Haiti - Haitians took to their roofs to escape rising floodwaters for the second time in a week on Sunday as squalls from Hurricane Ike killed 58 people and collapsed a bridge that cut the last land route into the starving city of Gonaives.
ADVERTISEMENT
All but one of Sunday's victims came in the Cabaret area north of Port-au-Prince, according to civil defense director Maria-Alta Jean Baptiste. She said another three bodies were found in Gonaives, victims of an earlier storm. They pushed Haiti's death toll to at least 319 from four storms that have hit the country in less than a month.
Witnesses in Cabaret said floodwaters rushed into homes in the middle of the night, crushing walls and reaching chest-high levels before receding Sunday morning and leaving everything caked in mud.
In the Always Funeral Home, 21 mud-crusted bodies were piled in a small room, unclaimed. Two of them were pregnant, one still clutching a small girl to her chest.
"We took refuge in one room and waited there all night and prayed," said Sister Marie Denise, who was trapped by waist-high waters in the house she shares with four nuns. They evacuated to the nearby school they run after the waters receded.
"We don't know if one of our girls is among the dead," she said of her students.
The rain had stopped by late afternoon, but authorities feared flooding could continue as water collecting in the mountains continued to run downhill. Much of Gonaives remained inaccessible even to United Nations peacekeepers in trucks because of rising waters and strong currents.
As the peacekeepers delivered aid to the parts of Gonaives they could still reach, scores of young men splashed alongside, begging for help. One called out with a bullhorn: "Hey, hey, my friend. Give me some water."
Food and fuel prices both skyrocketed, with gasoline reaching 500 Haitian gourdes (US$13) a gallon.
The U.N. beefed up security in Gonaives, which was isolated and pummeled by rains for four days last week during Tropical Storm Hanna. The city was cut off again Sunday when flooding caused the collapse of the Mirebalais bridge in central Haiti.
Relief workers in Gonaives said they had enough emergency food supplies for the next couple of days, but distributing it to the needy became ever more complicated.
A line of 3,000 people snaked around a warehouse-turned-U.N. shelter, and several hundred pushed and shoved to break down the door, only to be quickly subdued by Bolivian troops in riot gear.
Workers spent four hours handing our water and high-protein biscuits. But people were growing tired of relief food and started to demand rice, which has gone up 60 percent in price since the storms.
"We would like to eat some real food," said shelter resident Esaie St. Juste. "Rice, beans, sardines. Haitian people like real food."
Above Haiti's coastal floodplain, in the Artibonite Valley, authorities prepared to open an overflowing dam, inundating more homes and possibly causing lasting damage to Haiti's "rice bowl," a farming area whose revival is key to rescuing the starving country.
"Please evacuate as soon as you can," Agriculture Minister Joanas Gay urged Artibonite residents on state-run Radio Nationale.
Rains also pelted Haiti's northern coast as the storm made its way from the Bahamas west toward Cuba. But a U.N. humanitarian aid coordinator said there were no reports of major flooding, deaths or evacuations there.
___
Associated Press Writer Alexandra Olson in Cabaret contributed to this report.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Hanna pounds Haiti
Hanna pounds Haiti
September 03, 2008 05:35 EDT
SAINT-MARC, Haiti (AP) -- Hurricane Hanna could be affecting the U.S. within days -- and it's proving to be a killer.
At least 21 people are dead in Haiti, where families scrambled onto rooftops to stay above floodwaters triggered by torrents of rain.
Rescue workers have had a difficult time getting to victims.
Hanna's meandering off the country's northern coast, with 60 mile-per-hour winds.
A U.N. official says "the situation is as bad as it can be" in Haiti. It's been pummeled by three storms in two weeks and more than 100 people have died.
At least one death from Hanna has been confirmed in Puerto Rico.
Hanna could regain hurricane strength and turn toward the east coast of Florida, Georgia or South Carolina in the next few days.
September 03, 2008 05:35 EDT
SAINT-MARC, Haiti (AP) -- Hurricane Hanna could be affecting the U.S. within days -- and it's proving to be a killer.
At least 21 people are dead in Haiti, where families scrambled onto rooftops to stay above floodwaters triggered by torrents of rain.
Rescue workers have had a difficult time getting to victims.
Hanna's meandering off the country's northern coast, with 60 mile-per-hour winds.
A U.N. official says "the situation is as bad as it can be" in Haiti. It's been pummeled by three storms in two weeks and more than 100 people have died.
At least one death from Hanna has been confirmed in Puerto Rico.
Hanna could regain hurricane strength and turn toward the east coast of Florida, Georgia or South Carolina in the next few days.
Hurricane update
Haïti-Cyclone-Bilan
L’ouragan Hanna fait au moins 14 morts en Haïti
Sous les eaux, Gonaïves revit l’horreur de 2004 tandis que les dégâts sont très élevés à travers le pays
mardi 2 septembre 2008,
Radio Kiskeya
Au moins 14 personnes ont été tuées mardi au cours du passage sur Haïti de l’ouragan Hanna qui, selon les régions, déversait des pluies diluviennes ou faisait souffler des vents en rafale ayant provoqué d’énormes dégâts matériels et la désolation au sein de la population.
Déjà victime d’une incroyable tragédie en septembre 2004 lorsque la tempête tropicale Jeanne avait fait 3.000 morts, la ville des Gonaïves (171 km au nord de Port-au-Prince) a été sévèrement touchée. Un bilan encore provisoire dressé mardi soir par la protection civile et les autorités locales faisait état d’au moins douze morts. Interrogé par Radio Kiskeya, le commissaire de police Ernst Dorfeuille a confié avoir vu des corps flottant sur les eaux.
Alors que des responsables haïtiens et représentants de la communauté internationale annonçaient des interventions d’urgence en vue de procéder à des évacuations, jusqu’en début de soirée des éléments de la population civile continuaient de lancer désespérément des appels à l’aide. Juchés sur le toit de leurs maisons dans une ville située en-dessous du niveau de la mer, ils regardaient avec angoisse la dangereuse montée l’eau qui atteignait par endroit plus de 2,50 m de hauteur.
Un correspondant bénévole de Radio Kiskeya, Edson Mondélus, a indiqué que de nombreux habitants étaient complètement isolés et sérieusement menacés tandis que d’autres, un peu plus chanceux, cherchaient à se réfugier dans les étages supérieurs de certaines constructions élevées. Les équipes de la protection civile arrivées sur place étaient dans l’impossibilité de fournir l’assistance nécessaire aux personnes en danger.
Le journaliste dit craindre une catastrophe d’une ampleur encore plus grande que celle de l’été 2004 qui avait transformé les rues de la Cité de l’indépendance en un vaste spectacle d’horreur.
Selon le Député des Gonaïves, Arsène Dieujuste, une délégation dirigée par le Premier ministre ratifié, Michèle Pierre-Louis, et comprenant des parlementaires était attendue dans la région mardi après-midi. Cependant, deux véhicules du cortège auraient été victimes d’un accident qui aurait fait des blessés, ont confié à Radio Kiskeya des sources proches de la Présidence.
Outre Gonaïves, diverses autres communes de l’Artibonite étaient confrontées à de graves inondations. La situation n’était pas meilleure à Jacmel (Sud-Est) et aux Cayes (Sud) et au Borgne (Nord) où des rivières sont sorties de leur lit.
Dans l’Ouest, à Fonds-Verrettes, des témoins ont raconté avoir vu de violents coups de vents emporter les toits de toutes les maisons de la ville. Même un abri provisoire n’a pu résister à la puissance des rafales ayant atteint jusqu’à 110km/h, plongeant dans le désarroi ceux qui y ont été hébergés.
A Port-au-Prince, le chauffeur de la ministre à la condition féminine et aux droits de la femme, Marie-Laurence Jocelyn Lassègue, a été gravement blessé au visage lorsqu’une partie du toit du ministère a été arrachée. Gaspard Ziméro a dû être hospitalisé d’urgence pour recevoir des soins appropriés. Affirmant que cet accident avait créé une folle panique, Mme Lassègue précise que tout le personnel du ministère a été renvoyé précipitamment.
Même si le cyclone, rétrogradé entre-temps en tempête tropicale, faiblissait mardi soir en s’éloignant des côtes d’Haïti, des rafales continuaient d’abattre toits de maisons, arbres et pylônes électriques particulièrement dans la capitale et ses environs.
Huitième tempête tropicale de la saison, Hanna a suivi de trois semaines la tempête Fay et de quelques jours seulement l’ouragan Gustav qui a balayé, la semaine dernière, les îles de la Caraïbe avec un lourd bilan de 77 morts seulement en Haïti.
Très mouvementée, la saison cyclonique 2008 qui s’achève officiellement le 30 novembre, n’a pas fini de surprendre. Déjà, les prévisionnistes annoncent la naissance au cours des dernières heures d’autres systèmes dans l’Océan Atlantique. spp/radio Kiskeya
L’ouragan Hanna fait au moins 14 morts en Haïti
Sous les eaux, Gonaïves revit l’horreur de 2004 tandis que les dégâts sont très élevés à travers le pays
mardi 2 septembre 2008,
Radio Kiskeya
Au moins 14 personnes ont été tuées mardi au cours du passage sur Haïti de l’ouragan Hanna qui, selon les régions, déversait des pluies diluviennes ou faisait souffler des vents en rafale ayant provoqué d’énormes dégâts matériels et la désolation au sein de la population.
Déjà victime d’une incroyable tragédie en septembre 2004 lorsque la tempête tropicale Jeanne avait fait 3.000 morts, la ville des Gonaïves (171 km au nord de Port-au-Prince) a été sévèrement touchée. Un bilan encore provisoire dressé mardi soir par la protection civile et les autorités locales faisait état d’au moins douze morts. Interrogé par Radio Kiskeya, le commissaire de police Ernst Dorfeuille a confié avoir vu des corps flottant sur les eaux.
Alors que des responsables haïtiens et représentants de la communauté internationale annonçaient des interventions d’urgence en vue de procéder à des évacuations, jusqu’en début de soirée des éléments de la population civile continuaient de lancer désespérément des appels à l’aide. Juchés sur le toit de leurs maisons dans une ville située en-dessous du niveau de la mer, ils regardaient avec angoisse la dangereuse montée l’eau qui atteignait par endroit plus de 2,50 m de hauteur.
Un correspondant bénévole de Radio Kiskeya, Edson Mondélus, a indiqué que de nombreux habitants étaient complètement isolés et sérieusement menacés tandis que d’autres, un peu plus chanceux, cherchaient à se réfugier dans les étages supérieurs de certaines constructions élevées. Les équipes de la protection civile arrivées sur place étaient dans l’impossibilité de fournir l’assistance nécessaire aux personnes en danger.
Le journaliste dit craindre une catastrophe d’une ampleur encore plus grande que celle de l’été 2004 qui avait transformé les rues de la Cité de l’indépendance en un vaste spectacle d’horreur.
Selon le Député des Gonaïves, Arsène Dieujuste, une délégation dirigée par le Premier ministre ratifié, Michèle Pierre-Louis, et comprenant des parlementaires était attendue dans la région mardi après-midi. Cependant, deux véhicules du cortège auraient été victimes d’un accident qui aurait fait des blessés, ont confié à Radio Kiskeya des sources proches de la Présidence.
Outre Gonaïves, diverses autres communes de l’Artibonite étaient confrontées à de graves inondations. La situation n’était pas meilleure à Jacmel (Sud-Est) et aux Cayes (Sud) et au Borgne (Nord) où des rivières sont sorties de leur lit.
Dans l’Ouest, à Fonds-Verrettes, des témoins ont raconté avoir vu de violents coups de vents emporter les toits de toutes les maisons de la ville. Même un abri provisoire n’a pu résister à la puissance des rafales ayant atteint jusqu’à 110km/h, plongeant dans le désarroi ceux qui y ont été hébergés.
A Port-au-Prince, le chauffeur de la ministre à la condition féminine et aux droits de la femme, Marie-Laurence Jocelyn Lassègue, a été gravement blessé au visage lorsqu’une partie du toit du ministère a été arrachée. Gaspard Ziméro a dû être hospitalisé d’urgence pour recevoir des soins appropriés. Affirmant que cet accident avait créé une folle panique, Mme Lassègue précise que tout le personnel du ministère a été renvoyé précipitamment.
Même si le cyclone, rétrogradé entre-temps en tempête tropicale, faiblissait mardi soir en s’éloignant des côtes d’Haïti, des rafales continuaient d’abattre toits de maisons, arbres et pylônes électriques particulièrement dans la capitale et ses environs.
Huitième tempête tropicale de la saison, Hanna a suivi de trois semaines la tempête Fay et de quelques jours seulement l’ouragan Gustav qui a balayé, la semaine dernière, les îles de la Caraïbe avec un lourd bilan de 77 morts seulement en Haïti.
Très mouvementée, la saison cyclonique 2008 qui s’achève officiellement le 30 novembre, n’a pas fini de surprendre. Déjà, les prévisionnistes annoncent la naissance au cours des dernières heures d’autres systèmes dans l’Océan Atlantique. spp/radio Kiskeya
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
S.O.S for Gonaives, Haiti
Dear friends,
Please say a special prayer for the people of Gonaives. Gonaives is a also called the city of the independence. The city is being pounded with rain a residents are actually staying on the top of their roof according to a report I heard live caraibesfm.com I do give praise to God that the storm did not do too much damage in LA but unfortunately it is not the same in Haiti. According to the reporters the sea and the rives all become one. We do not have a pumping system like in the US and according to one official the water level is about 3 meters high.
Gonaïves (Gonayiv in Kréyòl) is a city in northern Haïti, the capital of the Artibonite Department. It has a population of about 104,825 people (2003 census). The city's name derives from the original Amerindian name of Gonaibo. It is located at about 100 Kilometers (55 miles) northwest of Port-Au-Prince
It is also known as Haïti's "independence city" because it was there that Gen. Jean-Jacques Dessalines declared Haïti's independence on January 1, 1804.
In September 2004, Hurricane Jeanne caused major flooding and mudslides in the city. 3,006 people were confirmed dead in Haïti, and the death toll in Gonaïves was believed to have topped 2,000. Every building in the city was damaged by the storm, and 250,000 people were left homeless.
If you read our previous blogs you will be able to see how Gustave affected us now I am not sure if this is the reminiscent of Gustav or just the impact of Hannah.
Please, please help anyway you can. If you have families over there please land them a helping hand otherwise if there is any organization over there you can help people with relief.
God bless!
Monday, September 1, 2008
Haïti-Intempéries
Gustav : 59 morts, des disparus, des dégâts matériels importants en Haïti
Bilan encore provisoire
vendredi 29 août 2008,
Radio Kiskeya
Le bilan du passage de la tempête tropicale Gustav sur Haïti s’est considérablement alourdi jeudi passant à 59 morts, selon des données encore provisoires fournies à Radio Kiskeya par la protection civile.
Un précédent bilan faisait état d’une vingtaine de décès enregistrés dans les régions les plus touchées, notamment le Sud-Est et les Nippes (sud-ouest).
Le directeur adjoint de la protection civile, l’ingénieur Pierre-Louis Pinchinat, a annoncé qu’outre les 59 personnes décédées, 7 autres étaient encore portées disparues. La catastrophe a également fait 25 blessés, 3.478 familles sinistrées et 8.082 déplacés. Ces derniers ont été acheminés dans des centres d’hébergement.
Au chapitre des dégâts matériels, 1.283 maisons ont été détruites et 2.195 autres endommagées à travers le pays.
M. Pinchinat précise que les départements les plus affectés sont dans l’ordre, le Sud-Est, les Nippes et l’Ouest.
Au moins 35 personnes ont été tuées dans le premier, 18 dans le deuxième et 13 dans le dernier.
Par ailleurs, diverses communes et localités de la Grand’Anse (sud-ouest) étaient sous les eaux et sévèrement touchées jeudi soir.
Gustav, qui a laissé Haïti mercredi, se dirigeait jeudi vers la Jamaïque et menaçait la Louisiane. spp/radio Kiskeya
Bilan encore provisoire
vendredi 29 août 2008,
Radio Kiskeya
Le bilan du passage de la tempête tropicale Gustav sur Haïti s’est considérablement alourdi jeudi passant à 59 morts, selon des données encore provisoires fournies à Radio Kiskeya par la protection civile.
Un précédent bilan faisait état d’une vingtaine de décès enregistrés dans les régions les plus touchées, notamment le Sud-Est et les Nippes (sud-ouest).
Le directeur adjoint de la protection civile, l’ingénieur Pierre-Louis Pinchinat, a annoncé qu’outre les 59 personnes décédées, 7 autres étaient encore portées disparues. La catastrophe a également fait 25 blessés, 3.478 familles sinistrées et 8.082 déplacés. Ces derniers ont été acheminés dans des centres d’hébergement.
Au chapitre des dégâts matériels, 1.283 maisons ont été détruites et 2.195 autres endommagées à travers le pays.
M. Pinchinat précise que les départements les plus affectés sont dans l’ordre, le Sud-Est, les Nippes et l’Ouest.
Au moins 35 personnes ont été tuées dans le premier, 18 dans le deuxième et 13 dans le dernier.
Par ailleurs, diverses communes et localités de la Grand’Anse (sud-ouest) étaient sous les eaux et sévèrement touchées jeudi soir.
Gustav, qui a laissé Haïti mercredi, se dirigeait jeudi vers la Jamaïque et menaçait la Louisiane. spp/radio Kiskeya
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