Active hurricane season predicted for 2010
Hurricane season 2010 shapes up as "very aggressive," with a long-range forecast suggesting up to 14 hurricanes may form, according to the National Weather Service.
Never in the dozen years since the Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center began issuing long-range forecasts has the agency started with a high-end prediction of 23 named tropical storms, said Chris Vaccaro of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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Haiti relief efforts relied on strong partners
This article was published on May 30, 2010:
I salute the partners who supported AmericasRelief Team's Haiti programs during the initial phase of Haiti's earthquake crisis. I appreciate their dedication, commitment and generosity.
The scale of this disaster is unprecedented in the Western Hemisphere. The United Nations recently reported that more than 220,000 people died in the Jan. 12 earthquake, while 800,000 people have been relocated to refugee camps. USAID considers it ``the largest long-term reconstruction project ever envisioned for a single country.''
During the crisis, AmericasRelief Team emerged as the premier organization dedicated to providing transportation, warehousing and other logistical needs for international relief organizations. We offered all of our services at no cost to the organizations. Without our assistance, many would be unable to send the needed resources, be they medical supplies, food and water or construction materials, to those who needed them most.
Despite our deep involvement in Haiti, we still were able to host this year's Regional Crisis Relief Luncheon aboard Carnival's M/V Imagination on May 7.
As keynote speaker, former Gov. Jeb Bush discussed the importance of involving nonprofit organizations in the coordination of relief work following natural disasters and human crises in the Caribbean. He expressed his strong support for economic and social development there, encouraging the members and partners of AmericasRelief Team to provide humanitarian assistance to alleviate suffering created by hurricanes and other catastrophes.
Bush said that such contributions foster goodwill and strengthen Florida's relationship with our Caribbean neighbors.
The magnitude and complexity of the devastation in Haiti means that we collectively will struggle for much longer to provide basic assistance and dedicate much more effort to the reconstruction and long-term development. After 30 days of participating in Haiti's earthquake recovery we had already facilitated the shipment of almost seven million pounds of humanitarian aid to Haiti -- and we have our partners and associates to thank.
TEO A. BABUN JR., executive director, AmericasRelief Team, Miami
Important Issues Affecting International NGOs
- Customs (Directorate of Fiscal Inpections) officers will no longer be posted at the Jimani- Malpasse border crossing as of 30 April 2010 to facilitate the transit of humanitarian goods. All organizations are advised that procedures revert to the standard procedures of pre-12 January 2010.
- U.S. Southern Command (SouthCom) announced today a New Horizons humanitarian assistance exercise in Haiti that will provide much needed medical and engineering services to several communities outside of Port au Prince, including Gonaives, beginning June 1 through September. The New Horizons projects and medical assistance sites are at locations selected in coordination with the Government of Haiti and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to fit within post-earthquake requirements. Engineering projects include: renovation of a school roof; new construction at three schools; water well improvements; and a sports recreation area.
- A reminder that the Cluster Approach was endorsed by the Inter Agency Standing Committee (IASC) in Sept. '05 The IASC, in its own words, is "the primary mechanism for inter agency coordination of humanitarian assistance. It is a unique forum involving key UN and non-UN humanitarian partners". http://www.humanitarianinfo.org/iasc/. Nine Clusters were agreed with a lead agency for each. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the lead agency for Logistics Cluster.
- Due to the severity of the damage that has occurred in and around the capital Port-au-Prince and based on the gaps and needs identified by the cluster participating organizations the
Haiti Logistics Cluster will continue to augment existing
logistics capacities to support the international community.
While continuing the activities related to the earthquake response, more attention will simultaneously be given to preparedness for
the hurricane season in 5 different areas such as:
- Entry point facilitation in PAP, Cap Haitien
- Transit hubs and storage locations
- Surface Transport
- Air transport
- Logistics Coordination and Information management
- The sea port at Cap Haitien will be primarily used as a point of entry for containerized commodities. This port is currently used by WFP. The existing infrastructure will be strengthened and transport of containers by chassis will be accommodated.
- Arrangements are put in place by port authorities to retain the two pier replacement barges that were deployed under US military contract in February. The APN port authority has arranged for the Ports Operators Association to extend the contract on these barges hence maintaining necessary handling capacity. Cost for the extension of these contracted barges will be passed on to shipping lines/customers. Logistics Cluster will maintain the presence at the port and coordinate flow of humanitarian cargo.
- Santo Domingo (Las Americas airport and the ports of Rio Haina and Caucedo) remains one of the primary entry points for humanitarian cargo while the Port-au-Prince airport was operating at diminished capacity and the sea port was damaged. However, given the revitalization of the PaP Seaport by the US military and government partners, the demand for slots should shift to PaP. The free storage and transport services provided by the Logistics Cluster in Santo Domingo was discontinued on 1 May 2010.
- 5000 square meters of covered storage area is available within Port au Prince for inter-agency use. This storage area is managed by Handicap International/Atlas and will be used for cargo consolidation and temporary storage.
- The Haiti Logistics Cluster reports that the road route from Leogane to Jacmel is a winding road that traverses the mountains, climbing and descending along steep cliffs. These cliffs have been destabilized by the earthquake and pose a high risk of landslide. Owing to the work of the government, and the Canadian military in particular, this stretch of road has been repaired over the past month to maintain flow of vehicular traffic as best possible. However, the increased cargo loads along this road will result in further route deterioration. High cargo loads on this route coupled with the impact of heavy rains means that alternative logistical access needs to be identified and contingency plans need to be in place to cope with this range of variable risks.
- WFP is chartering a barge capable of calling at regional ports/wharfs to resupply regional relief operations. This interagency service should provide a viable alternative to road transport for the Transitional Shelters (TS) program.
- The Logistics Cluster will continue to work with its partner Handicap international – Atlas Logistique (HIAL) to provide transport services to organizations without logistics capacity. The transport services will be provided from Port au Prince, Cap Haitien, Gonaives and Jacmel to the final delivery points.
Cargo Coordinator
Please be advised that effective March 11, 2010, Eric Williams (former cargo coordinator) is no longer affiliated with Americas Relief Team. We wish him all the best in his endeavors. For all humanitarian aid cargo inquiries, please contact us directly at (305) 884-0441.
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Neighbors4Neighbors is collaborating with AmericasRelief Team to facilitate donations of money and resources in Haiti.
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