Floods and Landslides

In the Dominican Republic the National Emergency Commission (CNE) reports that the death toll has risen to 329 and that 122 injured persons are in the hospital near Jimani. 375 persons are still missing and the red alert is being maintained in the area. The extent of damage is still unknown, but it is estimated that at least 830 houses have been damaged or destroyed. The ACT member in the Dominican Republic, Social Service of the Dominican Churches (SSID), is in the area assessing the situation with the assistance of emergency relief staff from Church World Service (CWS). Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) is sending US$150,000 as part of the ACT response to support the initial activities.

ACT members in Haiti - Christian Aid (CAID), Fédération Protestante d'Haiti (FPH), Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and Service Chrétien d'Haiti (SCH) - report that information they are receiving is still unreliable due to the difficulties in accessing the stricken areas. However, it has been confirmed that the death toll has reached 638, and there are fears that it could rise significantly as the town of Mapou was completely inundated by the muddy waters. Estimates indicate that 1,500 houses have been destroyed or severely damaged as well as eight schools. The most affected areas are in the South East Department (Mapou/Belle Anse, Galet-Maro/Grand Gosier, Bodary and Thiotte) as well as Fonds Verrettes in the West Department. ACT member Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is one of the few NGO's operating in the south-eastern part of the country.

The ACT C.O. has approved a disbursement of US$50,000 from the Rapid Response Fund to purchase relief items. The ACT members in Haiti have also received EU 30,000 from the local German Embassy to cover transportation expenses. LWF reports that the relief items are ready and will be dispatched to the area immediately. For distribution of the relief items they will receive logistical support from other ING0s working in Haiti. A delegation from ACT Netherlands - ICCO is currently visiting Haiti.

Church of Sweden, ACT Netherlands, Norwegian Church Aid, the Methodist Relief & Dev. Fund in England and the Week of Compassion Office of the Christian Church (Disciples) in the USA have already announced their support for the forthcoming appeal.