Intense rainfall from April 11 to 13, 2026 has triggered catastrophic flooding, river overflows, and landslides across Haiti's Nord-Ouest Department, killing at least 12 people and leaving thousands of families in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Local authorities have declared a three-month state of emergency as rescue and relief operations continue.
Follow the ongoing response on the Haiti Northwest Floods disaster page.
Widespread Destruction Across Three Communes
The hardest-hit municipalities — Saint-Louis-du-Nord, Port-de-Paix, and Anse-à-Foleur — have suffered devastating losses. Floodwaters swept residents away and landslides buried homes after days of heavy rain saturated hillsides and river catchments. More than 2,500 families are directly affected, with approximately 1,200 homes flooded and many residents forced to seek refuge with relatives or in temporary shelters.
Critical infrastructure has been destroyed: the Ti Rivyè bridge was washed away, roads linking Port-de-Paix and Saint-Louis-du-Nord are severely damaged, and several communities remain nearly isolated. A local hospital in the Chucará area lost all of its medical supplies to floodwaters, and schools and health centers across the three communes have been inundated with mud, disrupting essential services for the most vulnerable populations.
Haiti's Unité Hydrométéorologique warned on April 15 that residual moisture and low-pressure conditions could continue to produce showers through April 17, raising the risk of additional flooding in already saturated areas.
Organizations Responding
The American Red Cross is working alongside the Haitian Red Cross to lead damage assessments, evacuations, and the distribution of emergency water, hygiene items, and shelter kits across the flooded communes. The IFRC's Disaster Response Emergency Fund is supporting the scale-up of frontline operations.
Direct Relief is coordinating with health partners in Haiti to deliver emergency medical supplies, water purification equipment, and essential medications to health facilities serving flood-affected communities in the Nord-Ouest Department.
Save the Children is mobilizing child-focused emergency relief including safe spaces for displaced children, emergency education kits, and psychosocial support for families uprooted by the floods.
CARE is activating its emergency response in Haiti, focusing on clean water distribution, hygiene supplies, and support for women and girls in temporary shelters across the affected region.
How to Help
The most effective way to support flood survivors in northwestern Haiti is through monetary donations to established relief organizations. Cash donations allow responders to purchase food, clean water, and medical supplies locally and direct resources where the need is greatest.
Visit the Haiti Northwest Floods disaster page for a complete list of responding organizations and direct donation links, or browse the full organization directory to learn more about vetted groups working in the Caribbean and around the world.
