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Haiti

Haiti: Early warning saves lives

By Xavier Castellanos, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, in Panama

As Hurricane Gustav moved towards Haiti, the volunteers and staff of the Haitian Red Cross had one thing on their minds - how to save and protect as many people from the destructive winds and rain as possible.

The tracking of the hurricane path was revised once, twice and several times more and discussions on how to save as many lives as possible started immediately flowing around the room.

The Red Cross Red Crescent method of disaster preparedness - strengthening community resilience at the grass roots by giving volunteers the skills and knowledge they need to respond to a crisis - was about to be put to the test.

Evacuation

Several hundred Haitian Red Cross volunteers across the country swung into action, bringing early warning information and evacuation alerts to the communities threatened by Gustav.

"In some local committees, we lack megaphones to sound an early warning and alert communities to evacuate, but it has not prevented us from doing our work and trying to save as many lives as possible," said one volunteer.

National and local response teams were activated as well, in order to response as quickly as possible, including first aid teams.

Shelter

"We had volunteers and personnel from the civil defence working on the evacuations. At least 6,000 people took shelter," says Jean-Pierre Gueatou, executive director of the Haitian Red Cross.

Hurricane Gustav may have passed Haiti, but it has worsened living conditions for an already vulnerable population. If the rain continues the consequences of a major disaster will be significant in a country where so many people live in poverty.

Red Cross volunteers continue to work with those affected. The recovery, once again, will take time. However, the disaster preparedness work will continue to help Haitians to face future threats with greater confidence and resilience.