HAITI – In the wake of Hurricane Sandy’s torrential rains in Haiti, OBI’s Acting National Director for Haiti, Eric Lotz, reports on the devastation and loss of homes for residents, as a raging river literally crumbles homes and erodes the river bank.
OBI teams launched an immediate disaster response to visit tent cities and villages to make sure those affected have safe water to drink and plenty of chlorine to help prevent another devastating outbreak of cholera.
“As is always the case in Haiti, water kills far more people than wind. Cholera is the silent killer and will spike in coming days due to flooded latrines and vulnerable population,” said OBI President Bill Horan.
In addition to supplying residents with clean water, OBI teams have also identified a hard-hit area that has already lost 55 homes to the storm. Teams will distribute emergency packages of food, toiletries, chlorine (food-grade bleach) to disinfect water sources, and jerrycans to purify drinking water.
To learn more about OBI’s Hurricane Sandy relief efforts in Haiti as well as U.S. preparations, please visit www.ob.org
