Haiti Declares One-Month State of Emergency Due to Impact of Hurricane

Above: Haiti PM Laurent Lamothe distributing aid kits last week (Photo: OPM Haiti)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Haiti’s government has declared a one-month-long national state of emergency following continued damage to the country from Hurricane Sandy last week.

The government said it was declaring the state of emergency in according with the act of April 2010 which revised the earlier Sept. 2008 law on states of emergency.

The move came following a report by Haiti’s Interior Ministry and deliberation by the Council of Ministers on Oct. 30.

The move includes a number of measures aimed at improving the situation in the country, which saw severe damage to its agricultural sector and continued flooding.

Some of those include dredging of rivers and canals, rehabilitation the country’s electrical infrastructure, restoring and repairing drinking water infrastructure and reopening of transportation networks in Haiti.

A growing concern is cholera, which has been plaguing Haiti for two years and has reportedly seen an increase in cases since the hurricane.

The government said it would look to prevent the spread of cholera and malaria and re-establish cholera treatment units, along with decontaminating water sources around Haiti.

Haiti will also be making a request for international aid targeting affected sectors including agriculture and the environment, the government said.

A meeting of the Support Group of the International Community will be held on Monday.