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= May 2004 Caribbean Floods = The May 2004 Caribbean floods were a flood event that took place in the Caribbean Islands, mainly Hispaniola and some parts of Northern Puerto Rico from May 18, 2004, to May 25, 2004. The storm caused significant rainfall, with over 9.7 inches of rain falling at the most in Haiti, and 10 inches falling at the most in the Dominican Republic. These floods were caused by over two weeks of persistent rain in the Caribbean area, which eventually caused the landslides that killed many people. The floods caused much damage in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, with over 1,300 homes being destroyed and about 2,000 people being killed. Due to this destruction, nearly 15,000 people were displaced with nowhere to live. The area that felt the worst of the flooding was the town of Jimaní, near the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In fact, the destruction present at Jimaní was so bad that Dominican president Hipolito Mejia declared a national day of mourning after seeing the effects of the storm.

Background
The May 2004 Caribbean floods were a flood event that affected the Caribbean Islands and Hispaniola from May 18, 2004, to May 25, 2004. Moving quickly from Central America, a low-pressure storm system brought heavy rainfall and thunderstorms to Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic resulting in rainfall amounts exceeding 500 mm (19.7inches) within a 7-day period. Cities in flood-plain areas like Mapou, Haiti, and Jimani, of the Dominican Republic, experienced over 250 mm (10 inches) of rain between May 24-25, causing the Solie River to overflow, which resulted in devastating environmental and infrastructure damage. With 1,000 people dead and thousands more displaced in Mapou and Jimani, the death toll was at its highest in decades, partly because of deforestation. Steep valley ridges and barren hillsides flushed rainwater towards valleys, creating landslides that overwhelmed and flooded cities particularly in high-poverty areas where buildings were wooden or makeshift, temporary homes. In addition, the inhabitants residing on these flood plains were subject to increased risk from water-borne diseases due to a lack of inadequate waste removal management and contaminated water supply due to excessive debris caused by flooding. Due to its geographic location, Haiti is especially vulnerable to storm surges and hydrometeorological disasters. Nestled in the Atlantic Basin, Haiti’s mountainous topography and weakened natural barriers exacerbate the effects of storms. Deforestation, construction, and mismanaged land use has deteriorated natural barriers such as mangroves,coral reefs, wetlands, and sand dunes, further debilitating Haiti’s ability to withstand intense storms and to provide emergency services. The damage to Haiti’s already weak infrastructure and lack of natural barriers intensified efforts to secure food, water, and humanitarian relief.

Haiti
Widespread flooding and rising rivers had serious consequences in several parts of the country, including the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, and the town of Fond Verrettes. The road linking the two areas was unusable, so air transport was the only option. Fond Verrettes was almost completely washed away, and a mudslide swept away more than 500 houses in the town.

In addition, the town of Mapou, located 50 km southeast of the capital, was cut off by flooding. The water reached a depth of more than 3 metres. Consequently, 1,300 houses, almost half of Mapou's houses, were severely damaged. In the area surrounding Mapou, more than 35 villages were affected.

Approximately 5,000 families were displaced throughout the country.

Dominican Republic
Floods occurred in the south, northwest, and northeast areas of the country. Telephone communications and electricity were affected, as was the supply of drinking water due to damage to 21 aqueducts in the country. The most damaged area was the community of Jimani, in the west of the country. More than 300 houses were demolished there. Patients at the hospital of Jimani had to be displaced because the facilities were severely flooded.

Moreover, other provinces such as Barahona, Bahoruco, Elías Piña and Duarte also suffered the consequences of the floods. Duarte's rice crops represented 70% of all rice crops in the Dominican Republic. Nevertheless, thousands of hectares of rice crops in this area, as well as banana crops were destroyed. Also in this northeastern province of Duarte, around 100 families had to be displaced to temporary shelters.

Across the Dominican Republic, 3,112 houses were affected in some way by the floods. Around 3000 families were displaced. Given the extent of the damage, the Dominican Republic National Emergency Commission declared a yellow alert in the country.

Local Response
Authorities of the Dominican Republic sprayed disinfectant from aircraft over Jimani to prevent the spread of disease from decomposing bodies and sent the army to search for victims by using dogs and shovels.[1][2] In addition, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) Coordinating Unit promptly contacted with multi-lateral and bi-lateral counterparts in Haiti and the Dominican Republic to ascertain needs, monitor the situation as it evolved and provide SITREPS and needs information.[3] Social Service of Dominican Churches (SSID) began an initial assessment of difficulty in accessing water-logged regions.[4] It also assessed damages and losses in the communities where it works, and prepared a multi-year food security proposal targeting families whose food security situation was severely affected by the disaster.[4] Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and Service Chrétien d'Haiti (SCH) applied to Church World Service (CWS) for reallocating the food shipment to flood survivors that had originally been intended for use in response to Haiti's recent social and political unrest.[4]

International Response
The International Community led by the United Nations (UN) responded very quickly to the emergency in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The UN despatched an United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination Team (UNDAC) to coordinate donor response activity in the affected countries.[3]

Many other countries and regions also provided emergency assistance:


 * The Government of the US led military force ferried emergency aid to a hard-hit Haitian town;[5]
 * he Government of the British Virgin Islands has pledged US$20,000;[6]
 * The Government of Belize has pledged one container of relief supplies for each of the affected countries and BZ$25,000 through the Red Cross;[6]
 * The Government of Jamaica has donated medical supplies and equipment that were sent by boat;[6]
 * The Government of Ireland pledged up to €100,000 in emergency humanitarian assistance in response to flooding and storms in both countries;[7]
 * The European Union sent an emergency package worth some two million euros ($2.43m).[8]

In Haiti, more than 1,800 people died. 1,000 bodies were recovered in the Haitian town of Mapou alone, 500 bodies were recovered in Haiti’s Southeast region (Bodarie, Thiotte and Grand Gosier) , more than 250 bodies were recovered in Fonds-Verettes and another 158 missing and presumed dead , and 2 bodies were recovered in the South of Haiti, at Port-a-Piment.

In the Dominican Republic, at least 414 lives were lost. The Independencia Province was considered the hardest-hit area with 393 bodies recovered in the town of Jimaní alone and another 274 missing, and 21 bodies were recovered in Elia Piña, Duarte and Sanchez.

Torrential rains and floodings has led to an increase in the transmission of many diseases. Changes in the ecosystems (particularly vector habitats) had led to outbreaks such as malaria. Both countries had reported a dramatic increase in the number of cases reported from 1,529 in 2003 to 13,157 in 2004. There was also a low incidence of dengue with 2,340 cases reported in total.

Damages to the water and sanitation infrastructure placed the populations at risk for outbreaks of waterborne diseases. There was a sharp increase in diarrhoeal diseases such as rotavirus infection particularly in children under the age of 5 years. 275 deaths have been reported in the Independencia Province and still is amongst the leading causes of death in Haiti. There were no leptospirosis and cholera cases reported in both countries. However, the damaging effects of this and subsequent disasters had continuously weaken the water and sanitation infrastructure which eventually led to a major cholera outbreak in 2010.

Detection rates for both tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) were low in both countries. However, a disruption in the screening and treatment of these disease has led to an increase in mortality rates. HIV death rates in the Dominican Republic reached 80.5 deaths per 100,000 people. Regarding vaccine-preventable diseases, poor immunisation coverage for diphtheria had led to an outbreak in 2004 in the Dominican republic and a resurgence in Haiti since December 2014.