Rotary E-Club of Central Texas supports ShelterBox. Jessica Metcalf, who was a speaker for our club  sent an update:

I am writing to share ShelterBox is sending an assessment team to the Caribbean region, after a powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake and aftershocks in Haiti. Initially they will be based in neighboring Dominican Republic and a second team will deploy next week into Port-au-Prince.

Buildings have been flattened. Hospitals already under strain from COVID-19 are overwhelmed. Now with Haiti in the path of Tropical Storm Grace, survivors of the earthquake could be hit by strong winds, driving rain, flooding and deadly mudslides. Many will be facing these conditions with their homes already destroyed. Rescue efforts could be severely affected. The ShelterBox team will work with fellow humanitarians to assess damage reports, understand from communities what they need, and work on the challenging logistics of delivering aid to areas where buildings have been reduced to rubble. ShelterBox will initially draw down on pre-positioned aid in our Panama warehouse although we know the need will be greater than what we have on hand there so we have launched fundraising efforts.

Early reports are that almost 3,000 homes have been destroyed and at least 5,400 more damaged – but search and rescue is the priority right now, so damage reports will soar in the coming days and weeks. As you know, we’ve responded several times to Haiti, including in the aftermath of the catastrophic 2010 earthquake. We will be using everything we’ve learned, and our close partnership with Rotary, to forge local connections and make sure the right emergency shelter reaches communities when they need it.

From our response to the Les Cayes region after Hurricane Matthew in 2016, we know that the geography near the quake’s epicenter could make access to vulnerable communities – and the materials they need to recover – especially difficult. Homes are often made from concrete, wood and corrugated iron, leaving them vulnerable to strong earthquakes. Heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Grace could cut off roads and the country is extremely politically turbulent, and Saturday’s earthquake comes amid a political crisis in the country following the assassination of its president last month.