The Israel-based IsraAID humanitarian aid NGO, is preparing to respond in Haiti after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the Caribbean nation on Saturday.
The quake caused major damage, leaving more than 300 dead and thousands more injured in the country’s south-west sector.
IsraAID’s initial Emergency Response Team will include Israeli and international team members together with Haitian former staff members from the organization’s eight years of previous work in the country.
The Emergency Response team will distribute urgently needed relief items and assess immediate needs on the ground, focusing on relief distributions, Water, Sanitation & Hygiene, and Psychological First Aid and mental health support. Vulnerable communities recovering from this disaster are now threatened by Tropical Storm Grace, which is expected to bring heavy rains and possible flooding and mudslides on Monday.
IsraAID first sent a team to Haiti following the destructive 2010 earthquake, which killed more than 220,000 people.
The organization’s local team also responded to Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Saturday’s earthquake will be the third major disaster that the organization has responded to in the country.
“Haiti is one of the most disaster-vulnerable places in the world and communities across the country have been through so much in recent years, from the 2010 earthquake to the 2016 hurricane to the recent political crisis,” said IsraAID CEO Yotam Polizer.
“IsraAID has a long history in Haiti and we are committed to doing what we can to provide urgent support in the midst of this crisis. Haitian communities are made up of some of the most resilient people we have worked with and we will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them for as long as we are needed to build back better,” Polizer said.