Why Hurricane Matthew Hit Haiti So Hard

Before Hurricane Matthew hit the United States this week the storm tore through the Caribbean, bringing torrential rain and high winds to Haiti, Cuba and the Bahamas. But despite hitting each of these countries hard, Haiti faced the greatest devastation with more than 470 killed compared to just a handful in its neighboring Caribbean countries. The key difference between countries that succeed in weathering a storm and those that struggle is preparation and poverty. Perhaps most importantly, the national government regularly ranks among the world’s least effective and has invested little in disaster preparedness and response. In the hours leading up to the storm many Haitians were unaware of the impending disaster and continued with their daily lives. In the aftermath, bodies were left in the street and the government failed to provide food and water, according to a Reuters report. Read More: See the Path of Hurricane Matthew One major factor is simple poverty, which tends to exacerbate the effects of natural disasters. Haiti is the poorest country in the northern hemisphere with 2.5 million people living in extreme poverty, and the citizens lack the resources to prepare on their own. The lack of preparation extends to the shoddy construction of buildings in the shanty towns where most of the country’s urban residents live. The country lacks a national building code and engineers often design to standards established for other countries that do not necessarily ac...
Source: TIME: Top Science and Health Stories - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Haiti Natural Disasters Source Type: news