Saturday, December 8, 2018

Haiti Final Hazards Report


        The second largest island in the Caribbean, located in-between Puerto Rico and Cuba lies the island of Hispaniola, an island that the Republic of Haiti shares with the Dominican Republic. These two countries however could not be more opposite each other, as Haiti struggles with being the poorest country in the western hemisphere, meanwhile the DR continues to be prosperous and thriving. Not only are Haiti’s problem political and economic, but geographical as well. To begin, the mountains that lay across the island can cut off Haiti’s rainfall, and trade winds blow in the DR’s favor. This in combination with a long history of exploitation by powers both foreign and domestic, has left the country not only in poverty, but in a vulnerable position as it is unable to deal with the many natural hazards the country of Haiti faces. Every year millions of dollars are spent in humanitarian support of this country, as almost every year the country is exposed to a natural hazard turned natural disaster as the country has almost no basic infrastructure to protect itself. There are two types of natural hazards I believe are main cause of the country’s inability to bounce back, and if remedied the correct way, would provide enough breathing room for the Republic of Haiti to possibly become self-sustaining once again.
The first of Haiti’s natural hazards that absolutely needs to be remedied is the mass soil erosion encompassing the republic.  Soil erosion is defined three ways: 1) the grain by grain removal of mineral and organic material by wind or water; 2) removal of soil material at a rate faster than it can be produced; 3) removal of soil at an unacceptable rate. All of which happened to the forests on Haiti’s side of the island. 98% of the forests are gone and the soil quality with it. With its high population density living in degraded land areas, it has reached a point where Haitians cannot support themselves using their own land, and import most goods necessary for life. Beyond all the agricultural problems this creates, this causes other natural hazards to heighten. Floods are second most dangerous natural hazard. Together they cause mass wasting caused by tropical storms, and the high rainfall amounts become deadly since there are no trees to stop or slow waterflow. Also missing is the proper drainage from sewer systems as only 25 percent of living quarters contain any form. With the island being battered constantly by hurricanes, it would make sense for me to choose that as one of them, but the severity of the storms isn’t what cause so much destruction. The country’s lack of a way to deal with the rainfall that accompanies storms is what is affecting it. With the two dollars a day the people of Haiti make on average, and no building codes to follow, the odds of them building something that can survive a hurricane are slim to none.
How does one even start to help a country so vulnerable? I recommend the complete banning of burning charcoal as an energy source. Although it accounts for more than 85% of the energy produced in Haiti, it simply cannot be allowed if the country is ever to recover from the strain deforestation has placed upon its soil. The U.S. Agency for International Development has planted more than sixty million trees in the past twenty years, but more than ten to twenty million are chopped down each year to make charcoal. Agroforestry, reforestation efforts, and a complete switch to alternative forms of energy are a must if we want to begin to address these hazards of soil erosion and flooding.
As far saying where we should start, I suggest the area surrounding the highly populated city of Gonaives, a place where many fled to safety after the 2010 earthquake that decimated the capital of Port-au-Prince. Gonaives is a disaster area due to flooding, but I would hope that by adding proper drainage and better soil to the area, it may possibly better their chances of survival.      
Although it is rough to find a truly safe spot in Haiti, if I were to build my own my house, it would probably on top of Citadelle Laferriere in Nord, Haiti or on one of the surrounding mountaintops. It is one of the longest standing structures in Haiti as it was made for a war that never came, and became a symbol for Haiti’s independence. It is the only place that sounds relatively safe to me, as it has withstood the battering of the many natural hazards this country faces regularly. It is also beautiful, and has views of the landscape on all three sides of the fortress. There and only there, would I ever consider building a home of my own.

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3 comments:

  1. Hi Daniel!
    Great post about Haiti, I think you did a great job of summarizing Haiti's problems. I think you were right to list more than one issue occurring in Haiti, because Haiti is definitely a country with numerous problems.
    I find it interesting that your solution to stop the problems occurring with the soil was to completely ban the burning of charcoal as an energy source. I wonder if tat would create economic problems for the people of Haiti.


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  2. Hi Daniel, I found your post really interesting and informative. I did not know that Haiti and the Dominican Republic share an island. I find my country similar to yours in the way that they both do not have much resources to prevent natural hazards so they receive a lot of damage. I also think that a proper drainage would help with the flooding by minimizing the damage.

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  3. Great final reflection. Happy Holidays and great 2019-

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