Haiti: Tropical Storm Sandy displaces 35,000 people, while over 31,000 earthquake IDPs are hit again
| Publisher | Norwegian Refugee Council/Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (NRC/IDMC) |
| Publication Date | 16 November 2012 |
| Cite as | Norwegian Refugee Council/Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (NRC/IDMC), Haiti: Tropical Storm Sandy displaces 35,000 people, while over 31,000 earthquake IDPs are hit again, 16 November 2012, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/50acb3ec2.html [accessed 19 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Since October, more than 21,000 people were evacuated due to floods and landslides triggered by Tropical Storm Sandy. At least 32,000 people were newly displaced, as their homes were damaged and destroyed.
Many are facing the compounding effects of repeated disasters in the region. 31,790 IDPs in 119 camps are again in need of urgent assistance, since being displaced earlier this year by an earthquake. Two-thirds of these camps were affected only three months ago by Hurricane Isaac, and there are real concerns for the 92,000 families (360,000 people) who have been living in IDP camps since the earthquake in 2010.
While the Government of declared a state of emergency in October, the President of the World Bank announced last week during a visit to Haiti that US$60 million of post-earthquake funding would be redirected to support one-year housing rental subsidies for 60,000 families in IDP camps. The mayor of Port-au-Prince echoed the urgent need for housing away from the high-risk environment of the camps, particularly for older people, women, and children. The funding will help to relocate the majority of camp residents who rented accommodation or were squatters before the earthquake, and who risk forcible eviction by landowners.
As humanitarian organisations prepared to appeal for an additional US $40 million for emergency response to Sandy, the Government's Department of Civil Protection reported last week over 3,000 more displaced by heavy rains and flash floods.
