Michele Oriol, executive secretary of the Interministerial Committee for Regional Planning, recalled that scientific forecasts suggest a high risk of occurrence of these disasters in the extreme north of the country and the aftermath could be dire especially in Cap Haitien, where anarchic constructions abound, according to Le Nouvelliste newspaper.

‘In the North, many studies are carried out, but we must leave behind studies to formulate recommendations, to take concrete measures,’ encouraged the sociologist.

She pointed out that the constructions in the country’s second city do not stand on a solid foundation and called for examining the resilience of housing, particularly that of several levels.

‘We do not have much time for the North. We need specific actions, in terms of forecasting natural disasters, especially tsunamis,’ she stressed.

Early last year, on the occasion of the scientific day on the risk of earthquakes in the country, geologist Claude Preptit warned that the extreme north is one of the areas with the highest seismic risk due to the weakness of its soils.

Haiti is located in the middle of a vast system of geological faults resulting from the movement of the Caribbean and North American plates, hence the nation is prone to phenomena of this type.

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