American Red Cross Disaster Newsroom

Red Cross Prepares in Haiti as Hurricane Tomas Threatens

WASHINGTON, Monday, November 01, 2010 – The Red Cross is activating its emergency plans in Haiti, with government officials describing Hurricane Tomas as potentially the gravest hurricane threat to the country since Hurricane Ike in 2008.

As of Monday, November 1, weather forecasters said Tomas could begin to affect Haiti as early as Tuesday, causing heavy rain and strong winds that could affect communities living along the country’s southern coast.

With hundreds of thousands of people living in makeshift camps in and around the capital Port-au-Prince as a result of the January 12th earthquake, Haiti’s population is especially vulnerable to heavy winds and rain.

What the Red Cross is doing to prepare
The Red Cross has been preparing for the threat of a hurricane since February. At present, emergency stocks for 17,000 families are in Haiti and ready to be deployed to disaster-affected communities. Additional supplies for 8,000 families have also been called in from the Red Cross network’s regional logistics hub in Panama.

“We are working closely with the government to ensure that our plans are coordinated,” said Dr. Michaèle Amédée Gédéon, president of the Haitian Red Cross Society.

Ever since the January quake, the Red Cross has been supporting communities to better ready themselves for possible hurricanes and storms. To date, Red Cross volunteers have reached tens of thousands of people living in makeshift camps through disaster preparedness projects. Volunteers have worked with community residents to help them dig drainage ditches, sandbag hillsides and create evacuation routes. In addition, Red Cross volunteers have provided emergency first aid training, and handed out waterproof bags that contain safety messages and can be used to store and protect important documents.

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