Haiti braces for Tomas

Tomas has weakened to a tropical depression but is expected to regain strength as it heads toward Haiti, where it could hit as a hurricane. The storm is about 660 kilometres south-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and is moving
west-northwest near 7 kph.


Over a million people are still living in camps in Haiti, still homeless after the January 12^th earthquake which killed nearly 300,000 people.

“The camp situation is a real vulnerability,” says William Schmitt, the regional technical adviser for emergencies in Latin America and the Caribbean for Catholic Relief Services.

Speaking from Port-au-Prince, he told Vatican Radio the government and aid agencies are telling people to leave their temporary shelters and seek out concrete buildings for the duration of the storm.

However, he does not know if there is enough space for everyone.

“I don’t think anyone has been able to say with certainty whether or not there are enough shelters to accommodate the population that is currently living in camps,” Schmitt admitted.

“I certainly can’t, and I haven’t seen anyone able to answer that question.”

Listen to William Schmitt’s full interview with Charles Collins: