Congesswoman Maxine Waters - August 16, 2008 - photo: ©Randall White

Congresswoman Waters calls for $300 million in disaster assistance following recent storms

Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) delivered a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, urging her to include at least $300 million in disaster assistance for Haiti in the supplemental appropriations bill or another appropriate bill. The letter was signed by 67 Members of Congress. Copies of the letter were delivered to the ChaIRMAn and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Appropriations. The text of the letter follows:

We are writing to request that you include at least $300 million in appropriations for disaster assistance for Haiti following the devastating hurricanes that swept through that impoverished country.

Over the past month, Haiti has been devastated by four deadly storms in rapid succession, Tropical Storm Fay, Hurricane Gustav, Tropical Storm Hanna, and Hurricane Ike. On Monday, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) reported that 15,134 houses have been damaged or destroyed, and 154 people have been killed. As the flood waters began to recede, additional bodies have been found and buried. Tragically, the death toll may never be known.

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According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), up to 800,000 people in Haiti are in dire need of humanitarian assistance. As of September 6th, more than 100,000 people had taken refuge in temporary shelters - and this was before the onslaught of Hurricane Ike. Many roads and bridges have been damaged or destroyed, and crops have been lost. There is a desperate need for food, water, and health services.

Haiti is already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. It does not have the capacity to respond to the widespread death and destruction caused by storms of this magnitude. Immediate assistance from the United States is critical to meet the emergency needs of the Haitian people and begin to rebuild damaged homes and infrastructure.

We urge you to provide an appropriation of at least $300 million in disaster assistance for Haiti in the supplemental appropriations bill or another legislative vehicle that will be passed before Congress adjourns, and we look forward to working with you to help the people of Haiti rebuild their homes and their lives after these unprecedented storms.

Congresswoman Waters has been a leader in Congress in efforts to assist Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, with democratization and economic development. She has also championed international debt cancellation for poor nations through legislation such as H. R. 2634, the Jubilee Act.

---- BOOKMARK Haiti Action.net Tropical Cyclone Page for latest updates

HaitiAction.net will host a page with many Tropical Cyclone resources so you can find the latest information when you are searching for current updates. We suggest that you bookmark that page for this busy 2008 Hurricane Season.

Previous Hurricane reports:

Haiti’s deadly hurricane season just getting started Sep 1

Will Hurricane Hanna threaten Haiti? Aug 30

Dangerous Hurricane Gustav will hit Haiti Aug 25

Haiti's crops will be devastated by Hurricane Gustav Aug 26

Furious Tropical Storm Fay drenches Haiti Aug 15

Democracy Now: Haiti Struggles with Humanitarian Disaster in Aftermath of Deadly Storms

View the latest NOAA observations near Hurricane IKE

More information, resources and links can be found on the HaitiAction.net Tropical Cyclone Page

For the latest advisories from the National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml?

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Tropical Cyclone Breakpoints - Kiskeya

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