Before Hurricane Laura slammed into the Gulf Coast States, it caused major flooding and mudslides as it tore through Haiti on August 23rd. Accurate statistics are hard to come by, but according to a Haitian 24-hour news radio station, Hurricane Laura left Haiti with 31 dead, 8 missing, 6200 houses were flooded, and more than 2300 houses damaged and another 243 destroyed.
While Healing Art Missions’ (HAM) Dumay clinic suffered no direct damage, rushing water and flooding of the nearby River Grise prevented HAM doctors and any other staff coming from Port-au-Prince from reaching the clinic the Monday following Laura’s landfall. Fortunately, head nurse Guerdy and some other local staff were able to reach the clinic to attend to the few patients who arrived looking for help. For the remainder of last week, road conditions were so poor that the HAM Truck had difficulty reaching the clinic, suffering some damage to bushings and tie-rod. Haitian roads are always very hard on vehicles, and crossing the riverbed to get to the clinic takes a heavy toll on our truck, especially after hard rains.
In the North coast town of Port-de-Paix, where the HAM funded Charles Salomon Primary School is located, there was flooding and mud everywhere with many roads washed out. While the school was not harmed, a few houses in the community lost their roofs and many trees were downed. The principal damage in the area was to agriculture. Farmers lost much of the mango, avocado and banana crops as well as livestock. This will add greatly to food insecurity in the coming months, which has been a significant issue in Haiti given the ongoing political and economic situation, exacerbated by the COVID-19 Pandemic.
All of us at HAM send our heartfelt condolences to everyone who were directly impacted by Hurricane Laura, be it in the Caribbean or the U.S.