Photo journal: One year after Haiti's floods

poon cho tang SG

Introduction

In September 2004, floods and mudslides caused by tropical storm Jeanne devastated Haiti's northern coastal town of Gonaives.

One year on, its residents are still struggling to rebuild their houses and lives.

Rubble, mud and water are a daily reminder of the floods that hit Haiti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.

Words and pictures: Anne Poulsen/World Food Programme, Haiti

poon cho tang SG

Rescued

Niko Adain was just a few days old, when I met her a year ago.

The tiny survivor of the floods that hit Gonaives on 18 September 2004 had been brought to the makeshift hospital.

Niko's mother, suffering from anaemia and shock, was not able to breastfeed her newborn.

"I was lying on my bed with Niko, when the water suddenly started coming... He took us up on a rooftop from where we were able to call for help," her mother, Kamene, recalls.

poon cho tang SG

'Girl of tomorrow'

One year later, I find Niko sitting in front of her home in the Gonaives neighbourhood of Raboteau, smiling and giggling as she eats a big bowl of rice, beans and meat.

"I want her to be a girl of tomorrow. Well prepared, well educated and capable of using her head. Unfortunately, I do not have the means yet. If I could find the means to restart my business, it would be better," says Kamene, who used to be a street vendor before the floods.

poon cho tang SG

Hard life

Kamene, 25, says that one year after Jeanne, life is still very difficult in Gonaives.

She lives with a sister and the four children in a small house a few metres from the sea.

Niko never knew her father he died before she was born.

"I live from day to day, there is not much else I can do. I try to make a little money here and there, so I can provide for my daughter," says Kamene.

poon cho tang SG

'New lake'

The "lake" created by the floods at the entrance to Gonaives has still not dried up.

It could take another year for this sad memory of the tragedy to vanish.

Meanwhile, some local residents fish there and manage to provide some food for themselves and their families.

poon cho tang SG

Devastation

Last year's storm killed almost 3,000 people.

The devastation is still to be seen everywhere in this town of 200,000 inhabitants.

Whole neighbourhoods were wiped out - many of the houses have not been rebuilt.

poon cho tang SG

Aid

In the six months that followed the storm, the UN distributed food aid to some 160,000 people in Gonaives.

The emergency operation has now ended, but thousands of people are still receiving assistance through regular aid programmes.

However, daily food insecurity still affects 40% of Haitian homes.

poon cho tang SG

Malnutrition

Chronic malnutrition is widespread among the most vulnerable, and stunting affects the growth of nearly half the children under the age of five.

A high proportion of young children are still dying from preventable maladies like malnutrition and diarrhoea.

poon cho tang SG

Jeanne City

Tropical storm Jeanne will not be easily forgotten in Gonaives.

The residents of the Amba Pointe neighbourhood now call it Cite Jeanne (or Jeanne City) since most of the houses here were completely destroyed by the waters that raged through the town.