Following the floods, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in collaboration with humanitarian partners present in the South department and with official data from the departmental authorities, has drawn up a new provisional assessment of the torrential rains that fell between 10 and 12 November and between November 30 and December 4th, 2024.

Although the 2024 hurricane season officially ended on 30 November, heavy rains hit two departments in the Grand Sud region, namely Grand’Anse and Sud, causing rivers to overflow, floods and landslides.

In the neighboring department of Grand’Anse, exceptional rains fell from November 30 to December 4th in 9 municipalities. According to the latest official provisional report published on December 6, the bad weather caused 4 deaths, including 3 children, 13 injured and 5 missing following the overflowing of a river and two landslides, 14 houses were destroyed, 54 damaged and 2,051 houses flooded, affecting 2,394 families.

The authorities report a considerable reduction in school activities, pollution of water sources and health risks related to flooding. Beyond the direct human impact, agricultural and livestock losses are considerable.

Road access problems due to the blocking of roads following landslides make access to rural areas difficult, while telephone communications are intermittent in some areas.

Streets covered with mud, alluvium and waste disrupt the progress of activities in urban areas. Local and national authorities, under the coordination of the National Disaster Risk Management System, are leading the response with the support of national and international partners, in a context where the mobility of goods and people remains difficult in the country.

In the South Department, torrential rains between November 10 and 12, 2024 affected five municipalities. The official provisional departmental report shows 1,525 flooded houses in Torbeck, 800 in Les Cayes, 733 in Port-Salut, 617 in Aquin and 500 in Saint-Louis-du-Sud, or 4,175 families affected.

IH/ iciHaiti