Haiti: Droughts

Droughts are by definition an extended period of unusually low precipitation that produce a temporary shortage of water for people, other animals, and vegetation. Droughts threaten people with malnutrition or death if it causes their crops to fail. Although they normally are reason for widespread famine, the worldwide food distribution system is able to prevent this from occurring. The problem with droughts is that they normally overstay their welcome. The Caribbean Drought occurred from early 2015 to late 2017 and affected 15 countries. In 2015, the spring season of cultivation which is responsible for 60% of Haitian natural production, recorded 80% losses in what is supposed to be the most productive of Haiti's three agricultural seasons. Cattle reportedly died in large numbers as well, straining food supply further. The duration of the drought threatened the situation of 3.8 million food-insecure people. In mid 2016, only 30% of the allocated funds from humanitarian support was received, and no real improvement was reported until late 2016. That is until Hurricane Mathew struck a blow to the country in distress, and further increased the levels of food insecurity. This caused the need emergency food assistance to remain high in the country until late 2017.


Sources:
Drought stretches into its third year - ThinkProgress

Drought and Climate Change in Haiti - CWS

Caribbean Drought - Reliefweb

Haiti: Mass Wasting

What is mass wasting? More commonly known as its less technical term landslides; it is the downslope movement of earths materials. It is often a rapid movement of soil or rock in a coherent mass, such as a rockfall or avalanche. This happens as a natural phenomena, normally due to gravity and possibly the combination of some sort of triggering event such as an earthquake. Human activity also can cause the rate of landslides to increase, ranging from urbanization to simply natural resource use. Timber harvesting is among one of the many reasons associated with landslide erosion. In 2010, a devastating earthquake struck Haiti and caused landslides throughout most of the country. The United States Geological Survey compared satellite imagery from before and after the earthquake, and were able to map 23,567 different landslides that occurred that day. The earthquake was the triggering event, but the human activity could have also been to blame for that ridiculous number. For a long time, Haitians have burnt trees for fuel, charcoal is responsible for almost 75% of its domestic fuel. This has led to widespread deforestation around the entire country, so bad in fact that it is the one of the most deforested countries in the world. This makes the area high risk for landslides and flooding. I wish there was some sort of system in place that the country was implementing to prevent or at least warn citizens about this threat that looms over them, but eight years after this quake, I haven't been able to find evidence of that happening in this country.

Sources:
USGS Map of landslides triggered by the 2010 earthquake

Deforestation Heighten Landslide Risk - National Geographic