'Immense challenge' to rebuild Haiti, president tells donors

Guatemalans attempt homecoming as storm leaves 183 dead
Guatemala City (AFP) June 2, 2010 - Storm-rattled Guatemalans attempted to retrieve belongings Wednesday as officials delivered food aid after a devastating Tropical Storm Agatha left 183 people dead across the region. Scores of countries have offered aid to Guatemala, worst hit by the first eastern Pacific tropical storm of the season that left 156 people dead and another 103 people missing in the Central American country alone. Another 17 people in Honduras and 10 in El Salvador were among those who lost their lives as Agatha slammed the region with torrential rain, unleashing mudslides and raising rivers that washed away thousands of homes.

"We're taking advantage of the rain stopping to see if we can remove all the mud that built up on the driveway of our house," Julio Figueroa told AFP, saying walls of mud had prevented him from checking on his belongings. President Alvaro Colom said some 685 tons of food aid had been delivered to the massive number of displaced persons, with around 79,000 people seeking shelter from the storm. Among the 18 countries that offered aid, Brazil sent 20,000 tonnes of corn and 5,000 tonnes of rice, Argentina sent 16 tonnes of rice, Cuba offered a team of medics and the United States sent six support helicopters from a base in Honduras to aid with recovery efforts. The European Union gave 2.4 million dollars in emergency assistance. The World Bank has also said it was finalizing an 85-million-dollar loan to help Guatemala cope with the aftermath of the storm and a volcanic eruption.

Officials meanwhile said a sinkhole that swallowed an entire three-story building in the capital resulted from an overwhelming amount of water in the soil caused by Agatha's rains mixing with an unusual level of porous sand, after a volcanic eruption last week blanketed the region with ash and rocks. No casualties were reported from the sinkhole, 21 meters (69 feet) in diameter and 31 meters (102 feet) deep, because the building was not occupied at the time. A 100-meter (330-foot) evacuation zone has been put in place around the hole in the densely populated neighborhood, with residents only allowed in to retrieve belongings until authorities can determine the ground's stability.

by Staff Writers
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (AFP) June 2, 2010
Haiti faces an "immense challenge" to rebuild after January's earthquake, President Rene Preval told a donors' conference Wednesday called to speed payment of billions of dollars in pledges.

Recovery projects to be financed with the 10 billion dollars promised from an initial donors' meeting in New York in March will produce "a more decentralized, fairer Haiti," Preval told the event in the Dominican Republic resort of Punta Cana.

Former US president Bill Clinton, who co-chairs a commission with Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive overseeing much of the reconstruction funds, called on donors to make good on their pledges to realize those plans.

So far, only Brazil has stumped up all its promised sum -- 55 million dollars -- according to the Haitian economy ministry.

Wednesday's conference, titled the "World Summit for the Future of Haiti," was aimed at extracting more of the pledged money, defining reconstruction projects and deadlines, as well as reassuring donor countries that the World Bank would oversee the process to minimize embezzlement and corruption.

"Today, we have a very clear framework in terms of what we must do," said Organization of American States Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza. "This is not just a meeting to look over what has been done, but really to set out a program, adopt it and put it into action."

The event was attended by top officials from Europe and the Americas, with more than 50 countries represented.

According to aid experts, Haiti needs about 11.5 billion dollars for its anticipated decade-long rebuilding effort.

The January 12 earthquake effectively leveled the capital Port-au-Prince, killing more than 250,000 people and leaving 1.3 million living in precarious tent camps exposed to tropical storms in Haiti, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic.

The economy of Haiti -- already the poorest country in the Americas -- was badly hit.

Even though international aid has flowed in, the magnitude of the disaster means reconstruction efforts have been slow to materialize.

Much of the country's infrastructure -- roads, water distribution and electricity -- has to be rebuilt, along with schools and universities.

Dominican President Leonel Fernandez, hosting the conference, stressed that "Haiti is not alone, and never will be."

The Interim Commission for the Reconstruction of Haiti (ICRH) headed by Clinton and Bellerive has an 18-month mandate to oversee rebuilding. After that time has elapsed, the Haitian government is to take full charge.

The World Bank said last week it had canceled Haiti's remaining debt of 36 million dollars to help the country pursue its reconstruction.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has also urged countries to set favorable trade terms for Haitian businesses, in a bid to help speed Haiti's recovery.

The United Nations has warned Haiti against any unconstitutional change of leadership amid moves by the opposition to force Preval to resign, but it backed moves to hold elections by the end of the year.

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Louisiana residents add hurricane fears to oil woes
Belle Chasse, Louisiana (AFP) May 31, 2010
Louisiana residents Tuesday braced for further woe as hurricane season officially began, threatening to whip up oil-soaked waves, and dump tarry sludge far into inland areas. "This year especially we have a particular challenge as we go into hurricane season, with the oil in the Gulf," said Billy Nungesser, president of Plaquemines Parish area. Five years after it was battered by Hurrica ... read more

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