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This image, taken from the air over the village of Mapou in May of 2004, is clear evidence that Haiti's environmental crisis is no abstraction. The floods pictured killed 2,000 people in the area near the Dominican border. Without tree cover, the soil of Haiti's mountain ranges (the country is 70 percent mountainous) simply cannot hold water -- a disastrous situation in a tropical country, which faces heavy rains each year. Flash flooding has become all too common during the rainy season; the impact of tropical storms and hurricanes is magnified, sometimes horrifically, by the ravaged landscape. Tropical storm Jeanne, which hit in September of 2004, submerged much of the city of Gonaives in mud and debris, killed some 3,000 people, and displaced tens of thousands more. So long as Haiti's deforestation goes unaddressed, such disasters are likely to be repeated.
Credit: Daniel Morel/Wozo Productions
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Briefing
Read about the political, economic, social, and historical realities of Haiti that will influence upcoming elections.
Handbook
Learn about people and organizations making a difference in Haiti's developing civil society.
Filmmaker Notes
Go behind the scenes with filmmakers Daniel Morel, Jane Regan, and Whitney Dow.
A Developing World View: Interactive Atlas
Ways of comparing the world's haves and have-nots.
Corruption Chart
Calculate the cost of the culture of corruption.
Mexico Photo Forum
React to photos on human rights and corruption in Mexico.
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