Poverty and Floods in Cap-Haïtien

This World Bank report analyzes the complex relationship between poverty and floods in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, using data from the Climate-related Risks and Poverty Survey (CRPS) collected between October and November 2018. Cap-Haïtien, nested in a bay and home to a large river basin, faces devastating floods during the rainy season due to rapid uncontrolled urbanization, illegal settlements along river banks, and reduced watershed retention capacity.

The study examines this relationship through three key dimensions: exposure (the extent to which poor households are affected by floods), vulnerability (the extent of flood effects on poor households), and resilience (the ability of poor households to prepare for, cope with, and recover from floods). The research reveals that frequent and severe natural disasters can increase Cap-Haïtien households' vulnerability to falling into poverty traps, particularly affecting the poorest populations.

The analysis shows that floods create significant disruptions in households' lives, including interruptions to children's schooling and destruction of roads and paths. Poor households and those living in high-risk areas suffer disproportionately more from floods than the average population. The study finds that households affected by floods experience a 12 percent decrease in consumption per capita, though this effect is statistically insignificant.

Households demonstrate very limited resilience, with nearly half of flood-affected households reporting inability to restore their consumption to pre-flood levels. To cope with floods, two out of three households use their savings, while worryingly, reductions in food consumption serve as another common coping mechanism, particularly among poor households. The report provides crucial insights for informing disaster risk management and poverty reduction strategies in Haiti.