Atlantic storms devastate Haiti
Hurricane Ike and other tropical storms in September 2008 brought devastating flooding affecting 600,000 people in Haiti and submerged much of the northern city of Gonaïves. To support humanitarian relief coordination, MapAction despatched an emergency mapping team. Click here for Haiti maps. (Picture: American Red Cross)
Getting aid into the affected areas of northern Haiti proved extremely difficult after bridges collapsed. The conditions in the temporary shelters - at one point home to more than 60,000 people - were described by aid workers as 'horrific', with a lack of food, water, cooking materials, sleeping mats or latrines.
MapAction was operational in Haiti throughout September and October, providing situation maps for UN, Red Cross and NGO relief teams. Map themes include affected population locations, relief access, water resources, 'who-what-where' (3W) maps showing relief team locations, and orther topics vital to coordinating humanitarian assistance. The team worked from the offices of UN OCHA in Port au Prince. An extension to the mission beyond the first month was made possible by an emergency funding grant by UK Government Department for International Development (DFID) - www.dfid.gov.uk
This was the third time in 2008 that MapAction has deployed teams to flooding disasters. Volunteer mappers were despatched following the Bolivia floods in January, and then in response to Cyclone Nargis that impacted Myanmar (Burma) in May.
A case study evaluation of the MapAction deployment was produced by an independent evaluator immediately after the project had been completed. The study highlighted the uses of maps by a wide range of relief agencies and how these contributed to maximising efficiency in the use of limited aid resources. The full evaluation report can be found on our Resources page.