World Vision communities prepared for storm; so far, no deaths or serious damages have been reported in our Dominican Republic or Haiti project areas.

December 13, 2007

By Nilba Pérez, World Vision Communications


On Tuesday, Tropical Storm Olga's drenching rains and winds reaching 60 mph swept across Hispaniola — the island shared by the Dominican Republic (DR) and Haiti.

In areas where World Vision operates in the DR and Haiti, no deaths or serious damages have been reported so far.

According to World Vision's emergency operations center in the DR, seven deaths have been reported in the country. Flooding forced some 3,000 residents to flee their homes, and 200 houses reportedly are damaged. Two flooded communities remain isolated in the DR's Duarte province — Juana Rodríguez, and the municipal district of Guaraguao in Villa Rivas.

Haiti Update

According to our Haiti office, initial media reports indicate Olga caused some minor damages to crops, housing, and fishing boats in various parts of the country. Several rivers have flooded and are impassable; because of high winds and continuing rain, needs assessments remain incomplete.

Meanwhile, our regional staff reports no serious damages in World Vision's project areas. Some minor crop and housing damages were sustained in the northern part of the country in World Vision's Balan program area, which is supported by donors in Canada.

"In the locations closer to the [area] office, the damages in crops are really minor," said Yaline Edouard, the area coordinator, adding that once local authorities permit, staff will assess housing damages in Balan's outlying areas.

DR's Emergency Preparations

Meanwhile, World Vision staff members in the DR met with city government and civil defense authorities to prepare an organized, strategic emergency response before Olga made landfall.

According to our emergency operations team there, precautionary evacuations were conducted in the hardest hit eastern part of the country, primarily in the provinces of María Trinidad Sánchez (Nagua), Duarte (in the Lower Yuna), Higüey, San Pedro de Macorís, Azua, Barahona (in Jaquimeyes), Puerto Plata, La Vega, and San Juan de la Maguana.

Evacuees were taken to emergency shelters or to the homes of family and friends.

Our program area staff additionally helped families obtain emergency food and water as needed, providing 200 food kits containing water, milk, bread, and canned goods that were distributed to sheltered families.

Emergency teams remain on alert in both countries, ready to address the potentially damaging effects of ongoing, heavy rains. Updates will be provided as they are available.