IOM responded quickly with its humanitarian partners over the
weekend, providing new homes to many whose tents were destroyed or
inundated after a violent storm struck without warning on Friday
afternoon.

High winds and lashing rain caused death and destruction
throughout the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area leaving as many as
11,000 families with damaged or sodden tents according to
government estimates. Six deaths and 67 injuries were confirmed as
a result of flying debris or suffocation.

More wind and rain is forecast across Haiti for the coming days
further complicating the task of bringing relief to those left
without shelter in the midst of the hurricane season.

Friday's deluge brought a tale of woe for tens of thousands of
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) The storm lasted little over 30
minutes but caused chaos in the IDP camps where 1.3 million people
made homeless by this year's earthquake live.

A well organized humanitarian response began immediately and by
Sunday numerous local and international actors had pooled efforts
to bring relief to many of the families who lost their shelter in
the storm. Humanitarian needs have been identified in 162 camps so
far with assessments ongoing. The priority need is shelter, with no
major food or medical needs reported as a result of this storm.

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Distributions have been completed in 26 camps and are ongoing in
eight camps with priority given to those most in need.
Distributions have already been planned for a further 33 camps.

The initial damage assessments were carried out by the Haiti's
Direction of Civil Protection (DPC) alongside IOM teams and
humanitarian partners who fanned out across the most vulnerable
camps. Minutes after the storm struck, the Camp Management
Operations unit IOM organized a major telephone outreach operation
to IDP camps. A few hours later direct contact had been established
with 374 camps providing the first reliable data on the extent of
the damage caused by the storm for IOM and other humanitarian
partners.

IOM's Health and Protection units were also on hand responding
to requests to help for acute health and to protection needs.

By Sunday, IOM and its humanitarian partners had distributed
some 5,479 tarpaulins, 468 tents and 785 shelter kits to those
affected and more distributions are due over the coming days,
including ropes, blankets and hygiene kits.

Outside Port-au-Prince, in Corail-Cesselesse camp, where many
tents were damaged or flooded, IOM moved 110 vulnerable families
(some 555 individuals), into newly constructed transitional
shelters.

Within an hour and a half of being moved, many families were
busy planting gardens and arranging their new accommodation.

IOM was able to react quickly in Corail-Cesselesse because the
construction of 950 transitional shelters planned for the area was
already well underway and 111 units were ready to move into.

Construction began on 28 July and the newly painted shelters
were simply awaiting the completion of wash and sanitation
facilities.

Saturday's operation in Corail was led by IOM's Shelter unit,
with Camp Management Operations, Protection and Community
Mobilizers assisting.

The most vulnerable families were selected by IOM's Shelter Unit
Community mobilizers, Camp managers (ARC) and community
leaders.

IOM also broadcast a special edition of its daily Chimen Lakay
(Finding Home) radio show from Corail on Saturday.

The show, hosted by IOM's Marie Nelege Byron, focused on key
safety messages for IDPs in the wake of the storm, which left many
areas flooded, left power lines down and triggered a number of
landslides. It was broadcast nationwide on Radio Ginen as well as
Radio Boukman, the community radio station for Cite Soleil.

The transitional shelter project in Corail is funded by the
United Nations' Emergency Relief and Recovery Fund (ERRF). The IOM
transitional shelter programme is also supported by the governments
of Japan, Korea and Sweden.

For more information contact:

Leonard Doyle

IOM Communications Haiti

Tel: + 509 3702-5066

E-mail: "mailto:ldoyle@iom.int">ldoyle@iom.int

or

Kennedy Chibvongodze

IOM Haiti Shelter

Tel: + 509 3681-3501 / 3701-9681

E-mail: "mailto:chibvongodze@iom.int">chibvongodze@iom.int