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The History of Natural

Disasters in Haiti
February 22, 2018 by Barker Social

Throughout its history, Haiti has been hit by

natural disaster after natural disaster. It’s
location in the Caribbean puts it in prime
hurricane and tropical storm territory. Over
the past 30 years, weather conditions have
been getting worse as the climate continues
to change. Since 1998, Haiti has been hit by
ten hurricanes and other tropical storms,
causing widespread loss of life and Kooding
with every landfall.

Other natural disasters, such as the 2010

earthquake, have also resulted in massive
amounts of property and infrastructure
damage, especially in urban areas like Port-
au-Prince. This combination of
environmental factors, worsened by soil
erosion, has greatly contributed to Haiti
being considered the poorest country in the
Western hemisphere. It’s diPcult to stand
on your own two feet when you are being
washed away by the storm.

Here are some of the biggest natural

disasters that have hit Haiti in the 21st
century:

May 23rd-24th, 2004 –

Torrential Rains
Although not a tropical storm or a hurricane,
these two days of torrential rains caused
extensive Kooding throughout Haiti. This
resulted in entire villages being washed
away, forcing tens of thousands of people to
abandon their homes. In the end, the death
toll was approximately 2,400 people.

The primary reason that the Kooding was so

bad in rural areas, especially in the
southeast, was because of deforestation
and soil erosion in these regions. These
problems still plague Haiti today, and the
farming practices that caused these
problems in the Urst place continue to
damage the land. This is one of the reasons
why uFondwa’s Agronomy program is so
important. We train students from rural
areas in sustainable agricultural practices
that they can then take back to their
communities. Our hope is that, over time,
these young professionals will be able to
reverse decades of unsustainable farming
practices, healing the soil and the land. This
will not only help increase the food supply in
Haiti and bring prosperity to these rural
areas, but healthy soil and land will also
stand as a barrier against any future
Kooding.

September 2004 –
Hurricanes Ivan and Jeanne
A combination of two hurricanes, Ivan and
Jeanne, caused massive damage in Haiti in
September of 2004. Although Ivan’s impact
was serious, with Kooding causing damage
in several regions across the country, it was
only the beginning of the devastation. Then
Hurricane Jeanne hit. This storm’s path took
it across the western section of Haiti and the
Artibonite, causing massive levels of
Kooding that killed 3,000 people, while also
injuring thousands and displacing over
300,000 from their homes. Hit Especially
hard was Gonaïves, a coastal city, where
80% of the city’s population was impacted
by the storm.

Again, deforestation was one of the biggest

factors that contributed to the terrible
Kooding, as the surrounding valleys could
not hold the amount of water that Jeanne
brought down over the course of its 30
hours.

August-September 2008 –
Fey, Gustav, Hanna, and Ike
Sometimes, it isn’t a single huge weather
event that can cause the most damage.
Throughout August and September of 2008,
Haiti was repeatedly hit by a number of
tropical storms and hurricanes. Each time
one hit, it compounded the damage left by
the previous one.

It started with Tropical Storm Fey hitting the

entire country, causing widespread damage.
Just ten days later, Hurricane Gustav hit the
south peninsula, causing loss of life and
serious property damage. A few days later,
on September 1st, Hurricane Hanna
impacted the north eastern parts of Haiti,
causing massive Kooding. Finally, six days
later, Hurricane Ike slammed into the
western coastline of Haiti, causing heavy
rains and Kooding. In the end,
approximately 800 people were killed, with
an estimated $8 billion in property damage,
not to mention the extensive damage to
crops throughout the country.

January 2010 – Earthquakes

In terms of loss of life, the earthquakes of
January 2010 were the worst natural
disasters to hit Haiti in generations, killing
approximately 300,000 people in the areas
a]ected.

On January 12th, a 7.0 magnitude

earthquake hit near the town of Léogâne.
There was widespread devastation across
the region, and essential services and vital
infrastructure were completely destroyed.
Many hospitals and other aid sites (such as
the HQ of the United Nations Stabilization
Mission in Haiti) collapsed, further
worsening the humanitarian crisis. As a
result of the disaster, over 30,000
commercial buildings were so badly
damaged that they needed to be
demolished. National landmarks, such as
the National Palace and the Port-au-Prince
Cathedral, were also severely damaged. The
educational system of Haiti was set back due
to the disaster, as many schools and the
three major universities in Port-au-Prince
were directly a]ected in the wake of the
earthquake.

The crisis was made even worse by a cholera

outbreak in Port-au-Prince just a few
months later in October. Due to
displacement caused by the earthquakes,
one million additional people were living in
Port-au-Prince, many of them on the streets.
Damage to vital infrastructure, including
communication systems and roads, further
complicated matters, making it far more
diPcult to coordinate international aid
e]orts. Then, to top it all o], Hurricane
Tomas hit, further worsening the crisis. Even
today, eight years later, you can still see the
impact of the earthquake.

October 3rd-4th, 2016 –

Hurricane Matthew
The last major hurricane to hit Haiti was also
one of the worst. Hurricane Matthew was a
category 4 storm that caused a catastrophic
amount of damage to Haiti’s infrastructure
and agricultural industry, while also killing
approximately 600 people (some estimates
are over 1,000) and displacing tens of
thousands. It was the strongest storm to hit
Haiti since 1964, but due to the e]ects of
recent deforestation and soil erosion, the
Kooding and damage to the country was
much worse than it was 50 years before. In
the end, it was estimated that the damages
would cost $1.9 billion.

We are still feeling the e]ects of Hurricane

Matthew today, especially in the rural
regions where we do our work. These areas,
which were already struggling with poor soil
conditions, poverty, and lack of education,
were some of the hardest hit by Matthew,
and all of the other natural disaster listed
above. Thanks to aid from the United States
and emergency assistance from the United
Nations, many areas of Haiti have partially
recovered, but there is still much work to be
done.

As the only university that serves the rural

areas of Haiti, we are dedicated to
improving the level of education in these
regions and bringing about lasting positive
economic change for everyone. It’s your
donations that provide the scholarships that
allow students from these areas to earn
their degrees. If you’d like to donate to
uFondwa, you can do so on a weekly, bi-
weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annual,
annual, or even a one-time basis. With the
continuing changes to the climate, we can
expect more storms in the future, which
only increases the importance of reaching
our goals. With your help, we can continue
our work in making Haiti a self-sustaining
nation with a well-educated population,
working to improve conditions across the
country. Donate now.

 Blog
 The Importance of Agronomy in Rural
Haiti
 The Importance of Business Management
Courses at the University of Fondwa

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