Emergency updates

Haiti Earthquake Update - Feb 22 1700z

 

For ongoing coverage and information regarding the Haiti Emergency,
please refer to the Logistics Cluster website, including a page dedicated to 
UNHAS operations.

Haiti Earthquake Update - Feb 19 1100z

 

Surface transport

  • On Thursday 18 February WFP Santo Domingo dispatched 3 truckloads destined for Port-au-Prince, carrying cargo for Compassion International and UNICEF. To date, a total number of 485 trucks have been dispatched from Santo Domingo, carrying 1550 mt of food commodities and more than 9000m³ of NFIs for 42 different organisations.

 

Air operations

  • Over 2,450 passengers from some 207 UN agencies, NGOs, governments and media institutions have used the UNHAS passenger service between Santo Domingo and Port-au-Prince. For booking procedures please go to the Logistics Cluster website.
     
  • Helicopter cargo operations are ongoing with one Mi-8, two Mi-171 and a Sikorsky. Flights to date have delivered goods for UNICEF, WHO, WFP and Direct Relief.
     

Haiti Earthquake Update - Feb 15 1100z

 

Surface transport

  • On 12 February, WFP Santo Domingo dispatched 7 truckloads destined for Port-au-Prince, loaded with cargo for UNICEF and WFP. To date, a total of 437 truckloads destined for Haiti have been dispatched from Santo Domingo.
     
  • To date, WFP Logistics in the Dominican Republic has transported some 1550 mt of food and, on behalf of the Logistics Cluster, 8,645 m³ of NFIs for 42 different organisations, from Santo Domingo to Haiti. With that the Logistics Cluster, under the leadership of WFP, is facilitating the delivery of goods for several other Clusters, including WASH, Health, Protection and Nutrition.
     
  • The Dajabón border crossing in the north of the Dominican Republic is now used by WFP Logistics for trucks destined for Gonaives and Cap Haitien. This is helping to lower actual congestion at the Jimaní border.

 

Air operations

  • On Saturday 13 February, UNHAS transported 14 passengers from 5 different organisations from Santo Domingo to Port-au-Prince. To date, UNHAS has transported some 1200 passengers from Santo Domingo to Port-au-Prince.
     
  • The UNHAS passenger service to locations within Haiti has begun. Flights take place on Tuesdays to Les Cayes and Jacmel, Wednesdays to Hinche and Ounaminthe, Thursdays to Cap Haitien, Saturdays to Saint Marc, Gonaives and Belladere. The schedule can be found at www.logcluster.org/hai10a .
     

Previous updates

RSS Feed for emergency up\s

WFP Haiti

Copyright: WFP/Logan Abassi
Copyright: WFP/Logan Abassi

In 2008, two hurricanes and two tropical storms of unprecedented ferocity struck
Haiti within the space of a few weeks in August and September, killing 300 people , leaving 150,000 people without their homes and caused losses up to 15 percent of gross domestic product.

In response, WFP launched an emergency operation (EMOP 10781.0 "Food Assistance to Flood Affected Population in Haiti") to provide food assistance to an estimated 800,000 people, while also continuing activities under the PRRO and the DEV.

Given the scale of the this natural disaster and restricted access within Haiti, WFP
urgently augmented its logistics capacity to ensure sufficient assets and staff in place to address the logistical challenges in support of the entire humanitarian community.

As a consequence of the damage to inland infrastructure, road accessibility remain limited
in certain areas, leaving entire populations completely cut off.

WFP is leading the logistics cluster providing interagency logistics services, based on priorities set by the humanitarian community. Furthermore, the Logistics Cluster provide information management, cargo tracking/prioritization, customs as well as GIS/mapping services.

The cluster is providing road/ocean support (deployment of 49 all terrain 6x6 truck , tug barge chartered) as part of the disaster response through the special operation 10780.0 "Logistics Augmentation and Coordination in Support of the Humanitarian Community in Haiti").

More

WFP is also providing critical support to inter-agency logistics facilities that were set up in three sub offices Gonaives, Jacmel and Cap Haitien.

WFP import food in containers by sea, most of it is transferred at Freeport in the Bahamas; a large percentage of food is then sent to Port-au-Prince; the balance goes to
Cap-Haïtien. In few cases, transport is done by ships chartered at the ports of origin,
especially those in the Caribbean. Insufficient port and warehouse facilities in the north of
the country precludes deliveries of large quantities - 50 percent - destined for areas to
be supplied from Cap-Haïtien, so transit through the capital is necessary.

To summarize Haiti continues to face many obstacles that make logistics complex and onerous. The main obstacles are:

  • (i) the weakness of the port infrastructure and slow import procedures;
  • (ii) the inadequacy of the road network;
  • (iii) difficult mountainous country;
  • (iv) inadequate local transport capacity;
  • (v) worn out and poorly maintained equipment;
  • (vi) inadequate warehouse capacity at EDPs and FDPs, which results in more frequent deliveries; The main warehouse of Port-au-Prince, which is in an unsecured area that is difficult to reach, continue to be managed by a local subcontractor
  • (vii) the United Nations phase III security measures.

 

WFP Maps

Haiti UNHAS air services

Logistics Cluster