Catholic News Service reports on the response to Tropical Storm Isaac by Catholic agencies, including CRS:
“Cholera posed the most pressing concern for staff members of the U.S. bishops’ Catholic Relief Services; they fanned across southern portions of the country to assess the condition of the network of cholera treatment centers the agency supports.
A CRS spokeswoman said that while damage appeared to be less severe than expected, two cholera treatment centers in the capital of Port-au-Prince were hit. The centers must be able to handle the expected influx of victims contracting the water-borne disease so that early treatment will prevent deaths and limit the spread of the illness.
CRS staff reported that the damage and flooding appeared to be most severe in the Southeast department, with the numerous homes in the communities of Bainet, Jacmel and Kay Jacmel being destroyed.
Flooding was reported in some neighborhoods of the capital of Port-au-Prince. The CRS spokeswoman said some temporary shelters the agency funded after the January 2010 earthquake were damaged by Isaac’s 60-mph winds.”