The Haitian Embassy in Washington has confirmed significant damage and flooding caused by Hurricane Tomas which struck Haiti on 5th November 2010.
The Grand’Anse and South Departments saw heavy damage as well as the loss of livestock and crops. There was one confirmed death in the commune of Pestel, with more expected.
The city of Leogane was heavily damaged by flooding. There are heavy rains and severe flooding in upper Artibonite with up to one metre of standing water reported in Gonaïves, north of the Artibonite River, according to UNICEF.
The Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) from the US Agency for International Development released pre-positioned stocks of kitchen sets, hygiene kits, water containers, blankets, and plastic sheets to 27,500 people, both in Jérémie and Les Cayes in southwestern Haiti, as well as residents in some of the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in and around Port-au-Prince .
US Navy and Marine Corps helicopters from the USS Iwo Jima have performed a number of damage assessment missions over Haiti. In northern Haiti , the US Coast Guard also conducted aerial damage assessments with helicopters, and the Coast Guard Cutters Forward and Confidence assessed the coastline and ports.
The management of forests and drainage systems has helped to mitigate the worst of the storm’s potential, according to the US Embassy in Haiti.
