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February 12, 2010

US Sets May 1st Target for Sheltering Haitians, Long After Rainy Season Begins
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Haiti has been struck with its first heavy rainfall Thursday since last
month’s earthquake. The coming rainy season has raised fears of disease
outbreaks and worsening misery for the hundreds of thousands of people
still without shelter. Hours after the rain began, hundreds of people
marched on the Port-au-Prince airport to protest a lack of tents. The UN
estimates nearly 750,000 people have yet to receive any tents or tarps.
Even the temporary shelter provided to an estimated 250,000 people will
likely be unable to protect them from the rain. Despite those figures,
the coordinator for US relief efforts in Haiti, Lewis Lucke, said the US
is aiming to address plastic sheeting needs, not in the coming weeks,
but by May 1st.



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