Storm shreds aging tents in Haiti earthquake camps

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Storm shreds aging tents in Haiti earthquake camps
By JONATHAN M. KATZ
The Associated Press
Saturday, September 25, 2010; 3:09 PM

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- The sudden, powerful storm that ripped through Haiti's battered capital destroyed thousands of tents in the homeless camps where more than 1.3 million people live eight months after the earthquake destroyed their homes, shelter officials said Saturday.

The death toll from Friday afternoon's storm stood at five people, including two children, and hundreds of people were reported with varying degrees of injury, Civil Protection chief Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste told The Associated Press.

Preliminary U.N. estimates had more than 2,000 tents damaged or destroyed; international shelter officials said that number could rise beyond 5,000 when assessments are complete.

The storm's effect was exacerbated by the flimsiness of tarps and tents that have been baking, soaking and flapping in the Caribbean elements since the Jan. 12 earthquake killed at least 230,000 people and left millions homeless. Hundreds of thousands of families continue living on the streets of the capital waiting for temporary housing or money to find new apartments.

"Many of the tents that were destroyed had reached their end of lifespan," said Gerhard Tauscher, shelter cluster coordinator for the International Federation of the Red Cross.


Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/25/AR2010092502323.html

[Moonbat2]

1. Ho Hum

so much going on I forgot about Haiti