On 19 September 2004, TV screens around the world showed apocalyptic images of Haiti under flood waters. The poorest country in the Americas had been struck by Hurricane Jeanne, one of the worst tropical storms in its history. Torrential downpours shed rivers of water and mud on the city of Gonaïves killing almost 3,000 people, most by drowning. The city was devastated, totally submerged under water, and in some areas, the flood waters reached 3 meters. A state of emergency was declared by the Haitian government and the international community was mobilized to relieve the population.

Four years on, Gonaïves has again been hit by two successive tropical storms - Hanna and Ike on 2 and 7 September 2008. Although the number of deaths is lower, over 600, the city has been more severely affected than in 2004: it has again been submerged under water and the destruction of access roads means that it is isolated from the rest of the country.

Although Gonaïves stands out as a martyr city, Haiti as a whole has been devastated by four hurricanes in one month - Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike. Nine departments out of 10 have been severely hit and the UN estimates that 800,000 people, about 10% of the Haitian population, are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) calculates that the situation is catastrophic and the entire harvest has been damaged. On 10th September 2008, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) appealed to donors to provide 107.7 million dollars in order to ensure the survival of hurricane victims over the next six months.

Sadness, desolation and shock could not adequately describe the situation. The poorest country in the Americas needs to be completely rebuilt and a state of emergency has been declared in the whole country. The dramatic situation that Haiti is undergoing reflects the tragic image of a state in denial, revealing its lack of governance in the face of overwhelming events. This tragedy is in fact the price being paid for two centuries of administrative carelessness worsened by deforestation dating back to the 18th century.

Haiti was once the richest French colony - the Pearl of the Antilles -but today it has been stripped of its resources: 98% of the national territory has been deforested, increasing the vulnerability of a population impoverished by years of dictatorship and violence. Vulnerability is a combination of many factors that determine a system of vulnerability. In order to better understand the ecological disaster faced by Haiti today, this commentary proposes a global, holistic and systemic analysis, outlining the myriad factors that have led to the current level of vulnerability, which is further threatened by climate change. To read more on this story go to www.fride.org/download/COM_Haiti_perla_desolacion_ENG_sep08.pdf