By GARY FALLESEN, Climbing For Christ
Mission: Haiti 2025 was scheduled for Oct. 23-Nov. 2. But Tropical Storm Melissa forced postponement of the trip, changing the dates to Nov. 4-13. We continue to pray and monitor the storm.
Thursday, Oct. 30 (10 a.m.)
A man, above, carrying food through the flooded streets of Tippes on Haiti’s southwestern peninsula. Below, vehicles buried in mud after flooding in Petit Goave along Haiti’s southern coast.
Gilbert was preparing this morning to go to Haiti after days of weather delays. He hopes to cross the border later today or early tomorrow. Here is his update on conditions in Haiti as of this morning:
“I humbly write to report the following: According to information shared by Emanuel Pierre, Director of Civil Protection in Haiti, a total of 24 people have died during the passage of Melissa; 17 are injured, and 13 are missing. The search continues in Petit Goave, on the lower reaches of the La Digue River, where at least 20 people have died, including 10 children, and 10 are missing. The search is ongoing.
“According to the emergency operations center, 13,900 people are in shelters, divided by department. In the Grand’Anse department, 7,184 are being housed in open shelters, not including Dame-Marie, where two shelters are operating. In Nippes, 283 are being housed in open shelters due to the risk of flooding and landslides.
“In the south, a total of 1,813 are currently in 56 shelters divided among 15 communities. Melisa has affected several communities, such as Corail, Cayemites, Dame-Marie, and Duchite, where the needs are urgent due to the persistent rains. Ten communities in the Nippes department suffered flooding, causing material losses and posing a risk to the population. In Ance à Veau, several areas are flooded, including houses and a Catholic church.
“Other communities near Port-au-Prince have been flooded, including schools, homes, and churches. At least seven roads are cut off, leaving several communities isolated.
“The agricultural sector is severely affected in both Grand’Anse and Sur departments. An assessment of the agricultural damage is needed to plan support measures for farmers, such as the distribution of seeds and agricultural tools in order to restart production and limit the economic consequences for rural communities.
“Although Melissa has left Haiti, this does not preclude the possibility of heavy rains and gusty winds. This morning, several communities in different departments of the country woke up to rain, and according to meteorological reports, it could continue this afternoon, through the night, and into Friday. Because of this, departments such as Nippes, Grand’Anse, Sur, and perhaps others remain on Red Alert. There is still a possibility of further flooding and landslides.
“I haven’t been able to contact the communities we work in yet, and we know it’s because they can’t charge their phones, and the companies that mostly run on solar panels also don’t allow them to communicate even if they have a charge. A heartfelt thank you to those who continue to pray for me and for Haiti and thank you for being so attentive as always.”
Wednesday, Oct. 29 (9 a.m.)
Flooding debris in Petit-Goave, Haiti.
While the news of the day is Hurricane Melissa’s landfall in Cuba as a Category 3 storm and the devastation left in its path in Jamaica, the reach of this storm is being felt on Hispaniola.
“This morning, I spoke with Jean Ronald in Morne des Commissaires (Haiti),” Gilbert said. “He told me, ‘The rains started last night and are continuing. The rains also fell all day yesterday in Kalimet, so the teachers couldn’t go out to class. The few children who did go were sent home early this morning.’
“I haven’t heard from Majon in almost a week; it must be because of the constant rain. In Boucan Pierre, the rains have also been falling nonstop.
“In Petit-Goave, the La Digue River has risen, and according to people in the community, it has swept away five people. Many others disappeared early this Wednesday. The total number of deaths in Petit-Goave in just two hours this morning has reached 16. Also, according to the testimonies of many residents near the river, a large part of the town is flooded. The effects of Storm Melissa in Petit-Goave are visible, where several houses are flooded.”
Erosion caused by the sea in Dame-Marie, Haiti.
“In Les Cayes, southern Haiti, the river has also risen, and the houses are flooded,” Gilbert continued. “I contacted Kerry Nephatlie, a young follower of C4CNG, who told me: ‘It's been raining for a week. One river rose last night and now it’s raining even harder. We can't take it anymore. Many houses are flooded. I’m in the middle of the water, but what scares us most is the rising sea.’
“In Jeremie, Grand'Anse Department, many houses have also been flooded since yesterday due to the rising sea.”
Gilbert said the sun came out this morning in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where he was preparing to travel to Haiti. “I contacted Miche to find out how Jimani was doing (on the border) and he told me it had started to rain. Jimani and Barahona, the border province, are still under a Red Alert. We continue to rely on your prayers and perhaps support for these people who have been closed off for a week.”
Tuesday, Oct. 28 (6 p.m.)
Red, Orange, and Green alerts in Haiti as Hurricane Melissa crossed nearby Jamaica heading north-northeast.
Gilbert’s plan – after Melissa postponed his medical school graduation and our team’s arrival for Mission: Haiti last week – was to travel to the Dominican border town of Jimani yesterday and cross into Haiti to visit Kalimet, Majon, and Boucan Pierre. “I need to finish organizing the medicines by village and I also need to oversee projects for each village,” he said this afternoon. One project is the construction of the school in Majon. “We’ve been behind – and even more so because of this rain.
“Melissa complicated things and changed everything. I am still following the news to find out if it is possible to travel tomorrow, go to Boucan Pierre on Thursday, Kalimet Friday, and return Saturday. I’m leaving it up to Gaston to go to Majon next Monday. Prayers are more than important.”
Gilbert reported that Haiti’s southern peninsula remains under Red Alert. This region covers Boucan Pierre, Kalimet, and Majon, where Climbing For Christ’s New Generation supervises three schools with C4C’s support. He said the presidential council declared Wednesday a “non-working day – given the risks and disasters that the hurricane could cause.”
The center of Melissa hit Jamaica mid-day with heavy rain and wind still reaching Hispaniola to the east.
Melissa is the third-strongest storm to strike the Caribbean in the modern era. Only Wilma (2005) and Gilbert (1988) were worse. It has devastated Jamaica and now is headed for Cuba, where residents have fled the Sierra Maestra mountains.
Tuesday, Oct. 28 (8 a.m.)
Wading through the streets of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Gilbert met a Haitian woman in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where he lives and went to medical school, who has several children and whose husband had been deported to Haiti four months ago. She has been unable to pay the rent and in the middle of the rains caused by Hurricane Melissa she was being evicted. Gilbert could only help her purchase some food for her children for which she was grateful.
Santo Domingo’s weather status was elevated from Yellow Alert to Green on Monday, but it continues to rain there.
Although communication with those in Haiti has been spotty (“80 percent of the Haitian people have energy thanks to solar panels”), Gilbert did speak with some in Boucan Pierre and Kalimet. Sasnson told him of the crop losses in Boucan Pierre: beans, carrots, and more. In Kalimet, Venold said “part of the roof on the latrine” built for the school last year blew off in the winds last Friday.
Several thousand people have moved into shelters in Haiti. Agricultural damage will be felt across Hispaniola. But it could have been far worse – as Jamaica will see.
“May God act in favor of Haiti and the DR,” Gilbert said.
Hurricane Melissa early Tuesday morning.
Hurricane Melissa was inching toward landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday, a Category 5 storm that continues to intensify and affect islands throughout the Caribbean.
Monday, Oct. 27
Hurricane Melissa reached Category 5 today and became the strongest storm on the planet this year with winds of 175 mph and gusts over 200 mph. It is expected to strike Jamaica on Tuesday with a life-threatening storm surge up to 13 feet with 40 inches of rainfall expected.
Rainfall also is expected to begin to increase in parts of Hispaniola overnight tonight.
The United Nations World Food Program said it started sending emergency cash to Haitian communities in anticipation of the storm. About 9,500 households received a total of $900,000. We have our doubts that many of those in need will actually see that money, which is close to the average income for a person in the mountains of Haiti.
In Haiti, many people earn less than $2 USD a day, making it the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest countries in the world.
Sunday, Oct. 26
Gilbert shared a photo from the news page Listin Diario. The caption read: “Se me fue la casa” (“My house is gone”). An overflowing stream washed away the family’s house.
Hurricane Melissa performed a “rapid intensification,” going from a Tropical Storm with 70 mph winds at 11 a.m. Saturday to a Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph winds at 5 a.m. today. It is forecast to top out at 161 mph on Tuesday.
The storm is expected to drop more than 30 inches of rain over parts of the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica. It is expected to hit Jamaica early Tuesday as a Category 4 hurricane.
Gilbert reported this afternoon that 16 provinces in the Dominican Republic are now on Yellow Alert with four remaining on Red Alert. In Haiti, half of the country’s administrative divisions (West, Grand Anse, Nippes, South, and Southeast) are on Red Alert.
“So far the number of displaced people has risen to 3,760 and more than 700 homes have been affected, one road has been damaged, and two bridges,” he said. “This generates difficulty in mobility. Also, the number of isolated communities has risen to 48. So far, four deaths have been recorded in Haiti and 15 injured – many who were displaced by gangs and are living in tents. Now they have been crying out for help to the supposed Haitian government after hearing about the intensification of Melissa and the constant rains that began last Tuesday.”
Flooding in Santo Domingo.
Gilbert has heard from some of the teachers in the C4CNG schools. Elaon in Majon said on Friday no one had been able to go outdoors since Wednesday and “we don’t have any sun to (solar) charge. There’s only a lot of wind and rain.”
Jamanie from Boucan Pierre informed him Saturday that the rain started last Tuesday and is continuing. Lancy from Kalimet said Saturday, “We haven’t been able to go out since Friday (because of the rain).”
Requests for help also have begun. One C4CNG member messaged Gilbert requesting $5 to $15 (USD). “He said, ‘Give me what you can. Or lend it to me. Our food is gone, and we have nothing to eat,’” Gilbert relayed. “I sent him $30 and he said, ‘Thank you so much. Today my family will eat.’
“After listening to him I started to think, ‘What will become of those who are in the mountains during these days? Those who mostly go out daily in search of food?’ I said maybe they could need support.”
Saturday, Oct. 25 (11 p.m.)
Hurricane Melissa’s rainfall could cause catastrophic flooding.
The National Hurricane Center issued a bulletin at 8 p.m. today stating:
...NOAA AND AIR FORCE RESERVE HURRICANE HUNTERS REPORT MELISSA IS STRENGTHENING... ...LIFE-THREATENING AND CATASTROPHIC FLASH FLOODING AND LANDSLIDES EXPECTED IN PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN HISPANIOLA AND JAMAICA INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK...
“It has been reported so far in the Dominican Republic there are a total of 263 homes affected, 13 partially affected, one destroyed, 1,465 displaced, one road affected, 38 isolated communities, and eight shelters with a total of 82 people,” Kingdom worker Gilbert Lindor said from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
“We thank God because three of the 11 provinces with ‘Red Alert’ went to Yellow, while eight remain in ‘Red,’ but it has still been raining in both the DR and Haiti where three deaths have already been reported.”
A landslide near Port-au-Prince caused by rainfall from Tropical Storm-turned-Hurricane Melissa killed the three. In Sainte-Suzanne, a community in the northwest, a flooded Saint Martin River destroyed homes and a bridge. In the Dominican Republic, schools and government offices were closed on Friday and half of the nation’s provinces were on high alert. One person has been killed by the storm in the DR.
“It has also been reported so far 1.2 million inhabitants in the DR are without drinking water due to rising rivers and damage to the water system,” Gilbert said. “May God touch hearts to help those affected, while we pray for the safety of each one.”
Gilbert’s medical school graduation, scheduled for yesterday, was postponed until Nov. 6. With that, Climbing For Christ’s Mission: Haiti 2025 was postponed until Nov. 4-13. Our plan to conduct mobile medical clinics may, sadly, become some sort of rescue or relief mission.
Hurricane Melissa has the potential to become a Category 5 storm. A hurricane warning is in effect for Jamaica, and a hurricane watch remains in place for the southwestern peninsula of Haiti. Life-threatening floods and landslides are possible with up to 35 inches of rain forecast across southern Hispaniola.
The forecast path of Hurricane Melissa, above.
We are continuing to pray for the people of Hispaniola and all those in the part of Hurricane Melissa.
Saturday, Oct. 25 (11 a.m.)
The National Hurricane Center’s forecast cone for Melissa on the morning of Saturday, Oct. 25.
The postponement of Gilbert’s graduation and our trip to Hispaniola was warranted. Tropical Storm Melissa is on the verge of turning into a major hurricane that likely will impact Haiti. Some forecasts predict two-to-four feet of rain from the storm.
The streets of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where Gilbert lives and attended medical school, already are under water.
“Not only are the streets flooded, we have at least 11 provinces, including Santo Domingo, with Red Alerts and some of them are already flooded, and according to the COE (Emergency Operations Center) the storm could become a Hurricane tonight into tomorrow,” Gilbert reported this morning. “They recommend people in the provinces with Red Alerts and those in Yellow also to stay home.
“So far I am fine. I have been communicating with some people from the villages we serve and so far only rain and winds since Tuesday.”
Thursday, Oct. 23
Tropical Storm Melissa’s forecasted impact as of Wednesday, Oct. 22. A hurricane watch was in place for the southwestern peninsula of Haiti from the border with the Dominican Republic to Port-au-Prince.
The news about Tropical Storm Melissa came across my radar Wednesday (Oct. 22) and I immediately sensed the rising tide of trouble. Hispaniola, our scheduled destination for today for Mission: Haiti 2025, lay in the possible path of the storm.
A few hours later, Gilbert Lindor messaged me: “Bad news! They [his medical school in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic] just announced that graduation will be on Nov. 6! This is due to the alert from the meteorological office.”
The alert was a bulletin from the National Hurricane Center warning about “heavy rainfall and flooding” for parts of Hispaniola (the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic). Those warnings grew worse last night as “life-threatening flash flooding” was forecasted.
Gilbert, who was due to graduate in March but couldn’t participate because Dominican officials didn’t sign paperwork he needed in a timely manner, was scheduled to finally graduate on Saturday. Until Melissa entered the picture. Now it is Nov. 6.
“Sorry,” Gilbert messaged as we hastily worked on rescheduling Mission: Haiti at – literally – the 11th hour. “So many problems.”
“Not your fault,” I said.
“But it’s sad and more work to coordinate everything again,” Gilbert said.
My wife Elaine and I had been saying we felt bad for Gilbert; it’s as if he’ll never get to graduate (after finishing more than seven years of medical studies last December).
“Yes, that’s what I’ve been thinking!” Gilbert said. “This graduation will also be a victory.”
Gilbert’s life is a God-glorifying victory. He was rescued by the Lord from death – both in this world and the next – when we evacuated him from his home mountain village of Gentilhomme, Haiti in 2007 at the age of nine with a gangrene broken leg. He lost the leg but gained salvation as he recovered from an emergency amputation. We supported him through school knowing that God had a special calling on his life.
Gilbert, right, and classmates at a Universidad Tecnológica de Santiago celebration of degree projects completed last December.
He has a heart to serve others, especially the downtrodden. He kept Climbing For Christ’s work in Haiti going even after we had to dismiss our original Kingdom worker there. Gilbert responded by starting C4C’s “New Generation” (known as C4CNG), a group of young Haitians carrying on the ministry in the mountains of their beleaguered country. Schools have been continued and one day we hope to have a clinic built where there is no medical help. Dr. Gilbert will operate it.
But, first, he needs to graduate.
Prayerfully that will happen on Nov. 6 and our team – Kevin Kimble, Andy Moritz, Russell Yandura, and Elaine and I – will be there to witness it. We have rescheduled Mission: Haiti to Nov. 4-13. That will include mobile medical clinics in the villages where Climbing For Christ supports and C4CNG oversees schools for hundreds of children: Boucan Pierre, Kalimet, and Majon.
We are praying Melissa does not turn into a hurricane that hits Haiti and that days of forecasted rainfall does not trigger mudslides in the deforested mountains leading to more misery for a hurting people. Pray on! 