What we’re watching: Weekly disaster update, March 10

Tropical Cyclone Alfred – Australia: Tropical Cyclone Alfred weakened to a tropical storm as it hit Australia’s Gold Coast on Friday, March 7. At least 330,000 customers lost power, airports were shut down, and thousands of people were ordered to evacuate. One person has died.

Floods – Argentina: Port City Bahia Blanca faced severe flooding after four months of rain fell in just a few hours on March 7. At least 10 people have died, and hundreds of customers were without power. Emergency evacuations forced patients and workers to leave hospitals and care centers.

Measles – United States: A second person has died of measles in the United States during the current outbreak, and at least 230 others have been sickened. In addition to Texas, the disease has also been detected in New Mexico, Alaska, Maryland, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, California and Georgia. 

Complex Humanitarian Emergencies – Haiti

When a country experiences political conflict, climate shocks, famine, economic challenges or other conditions, it may suffer a complex humanitarian emergency (CHE). CDP maintains complete profiles on several CHEs. Every week, we highlight these and other CHEs hoping to build awareness and philanthropic response.

Roughly 96% of Haiti’s population is vulnerable to at least two of the region’s most common disasters: earthquakes, hurricanes, droughts, floods and landslides. In addition to vulnerability due to the country’s location in the Atlantic, Haiti is particularly susceptible to climate shocks because of deforestation: 98% of its forests have been cleared for fuel. Additionally, high poverty levels, gang violence, institutional fragility and inadequate infrastructure make disasters there especially catastrophic. However, global and local organizations are improving Haiti’s disaster preparedness and anticipatory action.

The World Bank supports diverse initiatives to help Haitians mitigate disaster risks. Municipal Civil Protection Committees are essential to disaster preparedness in the country. These volunteer-led networks bridge the gap between local governments and communities. Members receive training sponsored by the World Bank on Early Warnings, evacuations, community mobilization and emergency shelter management.

When looking back at past disasters, the Civil Protection General Directorate realized that many people did not understand threat levels and color codes, so they simplified their early warning systems and helped create public service campaigns to raise awareness about disaster preparedness. In 2020, Haitian musicians created videos and music to spread critical information about disaster preparedness ahead of hurricane season, reaching millions of Haitians.

Given Haiti’s current political upheaval, funding goals emphasize stabilizing and strengthening critical institutions and delivering basic health and human services to an ever-increasing number of displaced people. The Haiti Humanitarian Response Action Plan requests $908 million, $4 million of which will go to anticipatory action for climate disasters.