Caribbean Nations Hit Hard By Severe Weather

UN Rushing Aid To Caribbean Nations Hit Hard By Severe Weather

The United Nations is providing assistance to a number of countries in the Caribbean that have been badly affected by recent severe weather, particularly Haiti which has been the worst hit, the world body’s top humanitarian official said today.

“We are faced with a combination, once again, of severe natural disasters in a number of places which is stretching our resources,” Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes told reporters in New York today.

The region has been affected since 15 August successively by tropical storm Fay, hurricanes "Gustav", "Hanna" and "Ike", that claimed more than 350 lives so far in the Caribbean, affecting more than 3.1 million persons and damaging more than 550,000 houses - while assessments are still on going.