WRITTEN QUESTION E-3140/98

by Ana Miranda de Lage (PSE) and Jesús Cabezón Alonso (PSE) to the Commission

(16 October 1998)

Subject: Hurricane George

Hurricane George already holds the unenviable record of being among the most destructive in the past decade.

The scale of the catastrophe has attained particularly apocalyptic proportions in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Can the Commission say what emergency measures, aid, etc. have been deployed to alleviate the catastrophic effects of the hurricane?

Can the Commission say whether following the assessment of damage, the EU will cooperate in the reconstruction of both republics and if so in what kind of projects?

Answer given by Ms Bonino on behalf of the Commission

(20 November 1998)

Two regions of the Dominican Republic were very badly hit by Hurricane George. Heavy rain and the sudden release of water from a dam where the floodgates had been opened as a precautionary measure caused serious damage in the South-West (San Juan, Baoruco and Barahona). Many houses were washed away and the vast majority of public buildings (schools, hospitals and health centres) were severely damaged in the resultant mud slides. It is in this area that the greatest number of people were made homeless and there is a serious risk of disease from contaminated water. The South-East (east of the Distrito Nacional, San Pedro de Marcoris and la Romana) was battered by violent winds with many hundreds of houses being destroyed and the hotel sector being seriously affected.

Victims in these two areas, who are largely housed in temporary shelters such as schools or churches, need considerable assistance ranging from food aid (distribution of water and food) to basic health care and the building of houses. The Commission has allocated financial aid totalling ECU 1,7 million to victims in the Dominican Republic to be implemented by the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRL), the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and NGOs.

In Haïti there was heavy rainfall in many areas. The capital's shanty town, and in particular the Drouillard quarter, were flooded as always happens when there is heavy rain. In the South-Eastern département the village of Fonds Verretes which is built on a river bed was virtually washed away and 85 people lost their lives in this village alone. Serious damage to houses and buildings, crops and livestock is being reported in the villages of Marigot and Belle Anse.

A number of villages in the département of Artibonite were flooded as a result of the heavy rainfall and the opening of floodgates at the Peligre dam where water pressure had risen to dangerous levels. This rice-growing area has been particularly affected by the loss of crops and land. Many of the inhabitants have had to be evacuated and are housed in temporary shelters. There has been damage to other départements, particularly in the North. The emergency aid deployed in these areas has largely been in the form of emergency food aid and essentials. Further aid is needed for people who are still housed in temporary accommodation.

The Commission has allocated financial aid of ECU 300 000 to be implemented by Médecins sans frontières and the IFRC.