Rubbish burns on the coast of Haiti. (OHCHR/Marion Mondain Photo)
UNITED NATIONS (CMC) — United Nations (UN) humanitarian groups on Friday raised alarm over Haiti’s heightened vulnerability to natural disasters, warning that the French-speaking Caribbean Community (Caricom) country’s limited capacity to respond could be severely tested during the 2025 hurricane season.
The statement comes amidst a forecast that the six-month season, which begins on June 1, could be significantly more intense than average across Latin America and the Caribbean.
They said that the upcoming season poses a serious threat to the impoverished country, where economic crisis, ongoing gang-related violence and rampant insecurity have already displaced over one million people.
The UN said that more than 200,000 people are currently living in displacement sites across the country, many of which are situated in flood-prone areas.
Lacking proper shelter, drainage and sanitation, these camps “leave families acutely vulnerable to storms”, said UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it is working with national authorities and humanitarian partners to prepare for the hurricane season. Ongoing efforts include contingency planning, mapping of high-risk areas, particularly displacement sites, and strengthening early warning systems.
However, humanitarian access remains limited and preparedness is severely hindered by the lack of pre-positioned supplies throughout the country.
This is a “direct consequence of underfunding”, said Dujarric, adding that “funding remains a major obstacle” to the UN’s emergency response in Haiti.
On Wednesday, the executive director of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), Elizabeth Riley, said that the Barbados-based agency would be restricted in its activities in Haiti, where the security situation, occasioned by gang violence, is unstable.
“The prevailing factor in Haiti at this time is related to security, and even in situations where we have no conflict, humanitarian actions are only undertaken when the security situation is stable, and in this regard, I believe that the situation in Haiti would really have to be looked at from the perspective of the situation at the particular time.
“Right now we know that there is a security issue in Haiti (and) this is being discussed extensively at the political level within Caricom and as a Caricom institution we also take out guidance from the political directorate with regards to the actions that we will be required to take, if necessarily related to Haiti,” Riley said.
She said a security assessment would have to be done if Haiti is impacted by any weather system this year.