Relief Agencies Ready To Help Haiti During Isaac
MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) – With Tropical Storm Isaac barreling down on Haiti, local relief agencies are bracing for the demand for assistance to increase on the already wounded island.
Project Medishare spent Friday stocking up on supplies for their volunteer run hospital. Dr. Barth Green didn't make it out of their Miami offices but has been in close contact with organizers on the ground in Haiti.
"In the hospital itself we've begun to store water, food," said Green. "We're preparing for re-hydration IV fluids and various antibiotics and medications to deal with what we know will be a cholera reaction to a major storm like this."
The island is still very much vulnerable after the earthquake of 2010. More than 400,000 people are still living in tent cities. Green said his volunteer doctors in the region are expecting two surges from a medical standpoint.
"The initial one will be from the storm itself there will be trauma," he said. "The second surge will be the result of the flooding and the other systems and water sources reservoirs, rivers and lakes and that will lead to a cholera upsurge and other infectious diseases like malaria and dengue and typhoid."
The strong winds and shift in barometric pressure could also induce labor in pregnant women in Haiti.
"We have a maternal health center, the only one of its type in Haiti and we're going to have a lot of deliveries that are untimed, unexpected with the storm this always happens."
>> Visit the CBS4 Tropics Page for an interactive Tropical Tracker, the newest computer model tracks and more.
>> Here's how to use the CBS4 site to prepare for and monitor Isaac:
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