Plastic tarps offer temporary shelter in Haiti

Relief workers in Haiti have begun to distribute tarps and plastic sheeting to provide makeshift shelter for up to 1 million earthquake victims, according to The Miami Herald. The story notes that President RenÃ&Copy; PrÃ&Copy;val "has put out an urgent request to the international community for 200,000 family-sized tents and 36 million food rations to feed an estimated 1.5 million people -- the survivors of the Jan. 12 7.0 earthquake that killed an estimated 200,000 people." The Geneva-based International Organization of Migration is "rushing to distribute" its "stocks of tarpaulins and plastic sheeting until sufficient numbers of family-sized tents can be brought into the country." IOM made it clear that the plastic tarps are a temporary solution to a huge problem. "Tents are a three-five month option in the midst of the dry season. But emergency and transitional shelter solutions sufficiently durable to last at least two years need to be found before the heavy rains arrive in a few months," said Vincent Houver, IOM Chief of Mission in Haiti.