Sleepless weekend for thousands as heavy rains flood Port-au-Prince displacement camp 

PORT-AU-PRINCE —  The damage from heavy rains is evident from the moment you approach the displacement camp set up on the grounds of the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communications (MTPTC). Internally displaced people (IDPs), forced to flee their homes due to gang violence, have spent several nights standing to push back floodwaters from their makeshift shelters.

Despite not being able to sleep the night before, on the early morning of Sunday, April 13, everyone was already awake, hauling gravel, sand and concrete blocks, and digging trenches in a desperate attempt to prepare for yet another night of downpour.

“Whenever it rains, there’s no space for the water to drain — it just rises straight into our shelters,” said a refugee, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation while standing ankle-deep in a muddy puddle. “We can only sleep when the rain stops. We moved the children to areas that were somewhat less flooded, but some remained in the water with their parents.”

“Those who had some blocks and pieces of wood managed to lie down, but the rest of us spent the night standing,” added another young man resting on a cushion inside a small shelter. “What we’re asking for is help — tarps and fill material to block the holes that collect water,” he told The Haitian Times, requesting anonymity due to safety concerns.

After facing displacement, economic hardship, continuing stress and insecurity, these families are now enduring nonstop rains over Port-au-Prince. Officials attribute the recent severe weather to a surface trough moving over Haiti, which has brought showers, strong winds and thunderstorms, as well as high humidity and instability across several regions.

Because of an elongated area of low pressure over Haiti, the country’s Hydro-Meteorological Unit (UHM, by its French acronym) has issued a continued advisory for flash floods, landslides, and mudslides, particularly affecting the Great South, North, Northeast, West and Central regions through April 15.

Sunday marked the third consecutive day of heavy rain, pushing the already precarious conditions in the MTPTC camp to the brink. With little to no adequate shelter, residents are exposed to an increased risk of disease outbreaks.                                                                                                                                                

More than 4,000 people are currently living in this facility, according to the camp coordinator, Phora Mondésir. Most fled neighborhoods now overrun by gangs, including Solino, Delmas 30, Clercine and even Kenscoff— a town about 15 miles southeast of the Haitian capital. Many have lost loved ones, homes, belongings and livelihoods in the ongoing violence.

Their stories speak to the broader displacement crisis unfolding in Haiti’s capital, where escalating violence continues to uproot thousands.

Still, despite their current struggles, many long to return home.

“If the authorities can’t help us, they should at least find a way for us to go back. When we were home, we lived better, we ate better,” said Mondésir, calling on the government to provide basic supplies — food, medical care, tents, tarps and materials to remove garbage that’s now threatening public health at the site.

“Even a dog lives better than we do. They shouldn’t wait for one of us to die because of rainwater before they act,” he added.

In photos and video: Displaced families under rain

Poignant images show refugees’ current conditions amid days of rainfall pouring down on Haiti, particularly in Port-au-Prince—all photos and videos by Dieugo André for The Haitian Times.

Video

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