Big-hearted members of the Rotary Club of Lyme Regis swung into action to organise a street collection for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti and the subsequent devastating storm.

Over 2,000 people lost their lives with hundreds more missing and over 20,000 made homeless.

The collection will help to alleviate the suffering of the survivors.

Club spokesman Peter Bowler said: "The Rotary Club would like to thank everyone who kindly donated and as a result of the generosity we will be sending £500 to Water Survival Box."
Peter added that if any member of the public missed the group's street collection, they can still help by sending a donation by bank transfer to: Rotary Club of Lyme Regis Trust 2 account, Sort code 30-90-37, A/c No 39445960, reference Haiti.

The 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck south western Haiti on August 14 devastated communities in the Grand'Anse, Nippes and Sud departments, leaving hundreds of thousands of people in dire need of food, water, basic sanitation and shelter.

The suffering left in the wake of the earthquake was compounded by the heavy rains from tropical depression Grace on August 17, which triggered flooding and mudslides in some localities. All of this came on top of the assassination of Haiti's president on July 7, which threw the country into political chaos.

Relief agencies report that damage to the region's already fragile infrastructure is making it difficult to access the affected areas, further complicating the response effort. Roads, bridges and other parts of the transportation network have been rendered unusable. In addition, gangs along the routes into the peninsula from Port au Prince have made security an issue as the possibility of attacks on convoys remains high.

The bridge over the Grande-Anse River at the entrance to Jérémie has sustained significant structural damage and is closed to traffic, except for motorcycles or pedestrians. Any relief supplies delivered to that area must come by air, sea or through a long diversion on land.

The acute needs as a result of the earthquake only exacerbate the multiple and protracted humanitarian crises that already affected Haiti.