Overview:
A minimum of 5 residents have been injured after a rain-triggered rockslide in Mòn Basiko, a hillside neighborhood in Cap-Haïtien— highlighting ongoing dangers in areas with little building oversight.
CAP-HAITIEN — A minimum of 5 folks have been critically injured Wednesday morning after a big rock broke unfastened throughout rainfall and tore by three properties in Mòn Basiko, a steep hillside and neighborhood overlooking the northern Haitian metropolis of Cap-Haïtien.
The rock slid down the slope in Fransik, an space in Mòn Basiko, round 10 a.m. on Feb. 25, residents mentioned, smashing into three small properties made largely of corrugated metallic sheets, partially collapsing the constructions. Two youngsters and a 3-year-old boy have been amongst these rushed to Hôpital Universitaire Justinien with head and facial accidents.
From the third residence the rock struck, 15-year-old Kendy Dorcine and 3-year-old Wistanley Louis have been struck within the face as they tried to maneuver out of the way in which, relations mentioned. Within the first residence, Jaquesonne Isratif, 55, and his 13-year-old daughter, Medeline Isratif, suffered head and leg accidents and have been additionally taken to the hospital. The lady’s mom, Monette Jean, 54, was harm however not critically and didn’t search hospital care, in accordance with a relative who lives close by.
“They’re household. This doesn’t make me really feel good in any respect,” mentioned Paul Oldonique, Istratif’s cousin. “It hurts.”
Extra unfastened rocks as rain looms
No accidents have been reported on the second residence the rock struck, although its kitchen was destroyed. The rock lastly stopped after colliding with a cement-block wall at a 3rd home, the place it stays lodged.
Residents say extra unfastened rocks are seen larger up the hill. Whereas a couple of households left the realm after the slide, many others stayed regardless of fragile properties alongside the slope.
Rain is forecast to return Feb. 28, elevating fears that extra rocks might give manner.
“We salute the braveness of the victims and their households and prolong our full solidarity to the residents of the Fransik space affected by this case,” Deputy Mayor Patrick Almonor posted on his Facebook account.
“Cap-Haïtien’s native authorities and Civil Safety proceed to accompany the affected households whereas the harm evaluation is being carried out to take the required measures,” Almonor added.
Residents in hillside neighborhoods are routinely warned in regards to the danger of constructing in high-risk areas. Nevertheless, enforcement of building guidelines and zoning laws stays weak throughout a lot of Haiti. Many properties in weak communities, like in Mòn Basiko, are constructed with out retaining partitions or correct drainage techniques or engineering oversight — situations that heighten the danger of landslides throughout heavy rain.
Oldonique mentioned many households in Mòn Basiko lack the monetary means to relocate or reinforce their properties.
“Sure, we don’t hear once they inform us to not construct right here,” he mentioned. “However we don’t have cash in any respect. If we had cash, we wouldn’t be constructing properties like these.”
This isn’t the primary incident. In Might 2024, a minimum of 12 folks died in a landslide in Laborie, one other hillside neighborhood on the outskirts of Cap-Haïtien.
Municipal authorities have lengthy mentioned they plan to demolish constructions in hazardous zones however have not often adopted by. In January 2026, Northern Departmental Delegate Marc Présumé oversaw the demolition of a minimum of 12 constructions constructed alongside sidewalks on Boulevard du Cap and introduced plans to take away buildings too near Canal of Vertières, one other neighborhood close to downtown Cap-Haïtien. These further demolitions have but to happen.
Throughout Haiti, speedy city development, poverty and restricted state oversight have pushed 1000’s of households onto unstable hillsides and flood-prone land. With out constant enforcement of constructing requirements or funding in safer housing, residents stay uncovered to recurring disasters — particularly as excessive climate occasions grow to be extra frequent.