Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 12/2009

Haiti: "A Gathering Storm"

November 2009

Oxfam Publishing

Abstract

In 2008, four hurricanes and tropical storms (Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike) hit the mountainous Caribbean island of Haiti. In the space of a few weeks, the hurricanes tore apart the lives of millions of people, hitting the poor the hardest. With little time for recovery in between, the small island could barely cope. Crops, livestock, and homes were destroyed; roads and bridges left damaged; water pipes ruptured; school buildings ripped apart. The damage was nation-wide affecting nearly 900,000 people.