Mother, Daughter Head to Storm-Ravaged Haiti

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Bay News 9 Flooding in Haiti

A Montgomery woman and her mother, who helped establish a school in the town of Coco Beach, Haiti, plan to leave Tuesday to film a documentary about the school and the daily struggles of the people in the small town.

Their travel plans have not changed despite Hurricane Ike, the latest major storm to rake the island recently. But the purpose of their visit has changed dramatically.

"Initially we were just going strictly to film footage for a small documentary on the school, but because of the storm we've changed what we're doing," said Stephanie Reynolds, who along with her mother, Anne, started "All Children Are Children," the only school in the rural Haitian community.

Now they will be filming the massive devastation on the island and offering as much aid as they can, Reynolds said.

They plan to leave from Montgomery for Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday -- they will take a commercial flight from there to Port Au Prince, the capital city. They will then take a charter plane to Cap Haitian, near Coco Beach -- but all that depends on the weather and the devastation on the ground.

"We're scheduled to leave Tuesday," she said, "and we still plan on going."

Forecasts show Ike off the southwest coast of Florida on Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, officials said the death toll in Haiti from the four storms that have hit the country in less than a month stands at more than 300.

President René Préval called the state of the nation a "catastrophe."

Some estimate that as floodwaters recede it will reveal the real damage of Tropical Storm Hanna, which pummeled the island with rains last week. Many fear the toll will be worse than that of Hurricane Jeanne, which killed more than 3,000 in Haiti in September 1994.

The Reynoldses will be travelling with five members of Bedouins International, a non-profit organization based in Birmingham. The group will include a photographer and a camera crew.

"They will be there to help us physically but also to document our efforts," Reynolds said.

The storms of the past three weeks have already stalled one phase of their effort -- a container they packed in Montgomery with food, medical supplies and other essentials was shipped weeks ago so that it would be there in time for their arrival.

Reynolds said the last she heard, the container is still in Nassau, Bahamas because of the bad weather, and she does not think the supplies will be there by Tuesday.

Reynolds said crowding and shelter for her party are big concerns. They are booked at a hotel in Cap Haiti, which is about an hour and a half from Coco Beach. But they don't know what they will find.

Thousands of people have fled the city of Gonaives, one of the hardest hit areas. As many as 10,000 have walked miles, wading through dirty floodwaters to try to reach Cap Haiti, according to a news release from Daniel Rouzier, Haiti chairman of Food for the Poor.

"We all heard people are fleeing Gonaives and coming to Cap Haiti for shelter and there is not enough for everyone and that's what we're concerned about," Reynolds said.

She said friends in Haiti have said the conditions are terrible.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report

Haitians flee Gonaives before Ike reaches the island

A woman holding a baby wades through a flooded street as a soldier works after Tropical Storm Hanna hit the area in Gonaives, Haiti, Friday, Sept. 5, 2008. Hanna has killed at least 137 people in Haiti. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Sunday, 07 September 2008

Jonathan M. Katz - The Associated Press

GONAIVES, Haiti -- Hundreds of people fled this waterlogged city Saturday for higher ground as powerful Hurricane Ike threatened to unleash heavy rain and compound a disaster caused by a previous storm. Food was distributed to famished residents, including to emaciated inmates at the local jail. With a tropical storm warning issued Saturday for Gonaives and other parts of Haiti, some residents climbed on top of cars to reach the second floor of their homes, where they had piled up furniture and spread sheets to provide shade, said Holly Inurreta of Catholic Relief Services. "We are very concerned about Ike," she said. "Any bit more of rain and Gonaives will be cut off again." Police Commissioner Ernst Dorfeuille told The Associated Press on Saturday that a news report the previous evening that quoted him as saying 495 bodies had been found in Gonaives from Tropical Storm Hanna was completely wrong. He told AP there were 32 confirmed deaths in this city on Haiti's west coast from the storm that hit on Monday. Ike, a Category 4 hurricane, was expected to skirt northern Haiti late Saturday and Sunday. Wesley Sijuen, a 28-year-old father of twins and a 3-year-old son, trudged through heavy mud with seven of his relatives to reach a convent at a nearby mountaintop. His brother-in-law, 28-year-old Jean Emmanuel, said numerous Haitians were fleeing Gonaives. "Everyone is trying to save themselves," Emmanuel said. One gray-haired woman left on the back of a motorbike, balancing a bucket of silverware, glasses and other kitchen items on her head. In the city, U.N. peacekeepers and aid workers delivered high-energy biscuits and water to famished residents, many of whom had not eaten since Monday. At least 40,000 people remained in emergency shelters. "What I saw in this city today is close to hell on earth," U.N. envoy Hedi Annabi said as he toured the region on Saturday. Dozens of children raised their hands and ran after U.N. food trucks that rumbled through the damp streets of Gonaives. "Hungry! Hungry!" they yelled. The water in many neighborhoods has receded from about 10 feet high to knee deep. Food also was brought to hungry inmates at the local jail, several of whom had deep-set eyes, protruding ribs and labored breathing. "We haven't eaten since the storm," said 32-year-old Sylvin Renold, who had been arrested on theft charges. Marie-Alta Jean Baptiste, director of the civil protection department, said three more bodies were found, raising the confirmed death toll from Hanna in Haiti to 166. Some 119 of the deaths have occurred in the province surrounding Gonaives. In Cap-Haitien, Haiti's second-largest city, authorities were trying to move thousands of people into the few shelters in the northern coastal town, said Father Duken Augustin. "Please say a prayer for us," he told a reporter. "People are really, really, really scared." The U.N. World Food Program said Saturday that successive deadly storms have displaced hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed scores of homes and plantations. "WFP has first-rate logistics, and this storm system is putting us to the test," said Myrta Kaulard, WFP Representative in Haiti. U.S. Coast Guard crews expected to deliver up to 35 tons of supplies including rice, beans and water on Saturday. The U.S. Southern Command diverted the amphibious USS Kearsarge from Colombia to Haiti. The ship should arrive Sunday and has a medical unit with 53 beds. • Associated Press writer Danica Coto contributed from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Haitians flee Gonaives before Ike reaches the island

A woman holding a baby wades through a flooded street as a soldier works after Tropical Storm Hanna hit the area in Gonaives, Haiti, Friday, Sept. 5, 2008. Hanna has killed at least 137 people in Haiti. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Sunday, 07 September 2008

Haitians flee Gonaives before Ike reaches the island

Jonathan M. Katz - The Associated Press

GONAIVES, Haiti -- Hundreds of people fled this waterlogged city Saturday for higher ground as powerful Hurricane Ike threatened to unleash heavy rain and compound a disaster caused by a previous storm. Food was distributed to famished residents, including to emaciated inmates at the local jail. With a tropical storm warning issued Saturday for Gonaives and other parts of Haiti, some residents climbed on top of cars to reach the second floor of their homes, where they had piled up furniture and spread sheets to provide shade, said Holly Inurreta of Catholic Relief Services. "We are very concerned about Ike," she said. "Any bit more of rain and Gonaives will be cut off again." Police Commissioner Ernst Dorfeuille told The Associated Press on Saturday that a news report the previous evening that quoted him as saying 495 bodies had been found in Gonaives from Tropical Storm Hanna was completely wrong. He told AP there were 32 confirmed deaths in this city on Haiti's west coast from the storm that hit on Monday. Ike, a Category 4 hurricane, was expected to skirt northern Haiti late Saturday and Sunday. Wesley Sijuen, a 28-year-old father of twins and a 3-year-old son, trudged through heavy mud with seven of his relatives to reach a convent at a nearby mountaintop. His brother-in-law, 28-year-old Jean Emmanuel, said numerous Haitians were fleeing Gonaives. "Everyone is trying to save themselves," Emmanuel said. One gray-haired woman left on the back of a motorbike, balancing a bucket of silverware, glasses and other kitchen items on her head. In the city, U.N. peacekeepers and aid workers delivered high-energy biscuits and water to famished residents, many of whom had not eaten since Monday. At least 40,000 people remained in emergency shelters. "What I saw in this city today is close to hell on earth," U.N. envoy Hedi Annabi said as he toured the region on Saturday. Dozens of children raised their hands and ran after U.N. food trucks that rumbled through the damp streets of Gonaives. "Hungry! Hungry!" they yelled. The water in many neighborhoods has receded from about 10 feet high to knee deep. Food also was brought to hungry inmates at the local jail, several of whom had deep-set eyes, protruding ribs and labored breathing. "We haven't eaten since the storm," said 32-year-old Sylvin Renold, who had been arrested on theft charges. Marie-Alta Jean Baptiste, director of the civil protection department, said three more bodies were found, raising the confirmed death toll from Hanna in Haiti to 166. Some 119 of the deaths have occurred in the province surrounding Gonaives. In Cap-Haitien, Haiti's second-largest city, authorities were trying to move thousands of people into the few shelters in the northern coastal town, said Father Duken Augustin. "Please say a prayer for us," he told a reporter. "People are really, really, really scared." The U.N. World Food Program said Saturday that successive deadly storms have displaced hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed scores of homes and plantations. "WFP has first-rate logistics, and this storm system is putting us to the test," said Myrta Kaulard, WFP Representative in Haiti. U.S. Coast Guard crews expected to deliver up to 35 tons of supplies including rice, beans and water on Saturday. The U.S. Southern Command diverted the amphibious USS Kearsarge from Colombia to Haiti. The ship should arrive Sunday and has a medical unit with 53 beds. • Associated Press writer Danica Coto contributed from San Juan, Puerto Rico.