Yesterday morning, I woke up to CNN’s talking heads warning of Hurricane Dean’s destructive path toward the Caribbean. As I write this, Dean is on the verge of becoming a category 5 and has already destroyed all of Martinique’s banana plantations and 70% of its cane plantations. Now, it is headed on a deadly collision course toward Jamaica.

As it rolls toward Jamaica, Dean will pass along the coast of Haiti, the poorest and most disadvantaged country in the Western Hemisphere with 54% of the population earning less than $1 per day and less than half of the population has sustained access to safe drinking water. With 78% of the country deforested, Hurricane dean is bound to trigger major flooding, mud and landslides. Thousands of people may die, tens of thousands may be displaced from their home, and hundreds of thousands may be left without access to basic services and recourses such as safe drinking water. Now Jamaica must also prepare.

Hurricane Dean is part of a series of natural disasters affecting some of the poorest and most disadvantaged this summer. Earlier last week, an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale rocked the south coast of Peru, killing over 650 people, and leaving over 300,000 families homeless. The earthquake decimated critical infrastructure such as water and electric lines. Aid agencies are now working around the clock to bring water to affected communities.

In China today, Typhoon Sepat swept the southern coast causing over a million people to evacuate their homes. Monsoon rains during the month of July and August have caused major flooding throughout the summer, leaving more than 10 million people in dire need of access to water, food and essential medicines.

As relief workers scrabble to rescue and provide aid and support for victims of natural disasters, ensuring access to safe drinking water is at the top of their list. Water is life.
>From Marshall, Missouri – happy trails.

-S-