A/HRC/34/73 ill”. The conditions in which these people were living were inhumane and showed no sign of improving. 81. The principal of Nord Alexis school had received instructions from the authorities to ensure that the school was ready to reopen within two weeks. He did not see how he could carry out this instruction if the authorities did not take responsibility for ensuring that the houses of those persons sheltering in the high school were rebuilt. This raised the question of whether the principal himself was resilient enough to avoid succumbing to mental illness in the face of this tragedy. 82. There were 15 other shelters like this one in schools located in Jérémie. There was no evidence to suggest that their situation was any better. Other communes had been seriously affected in Grand’Anse Department, as well as in the Departments of Nippes, Sud and Ouest and, to a lesser extent, in Nord-Ouest and Sud-Est Departments. Most houses made of wood had been damaged if not completely destroyed; more than 66,000 houses had been affected in Grand’Anse Department alone. Many sheet-metal roofs had been torn off by the winds. In addition, 103 schools had been damaged and 105 State schools had been destroyed in Grand’Anse Department. Over 70 per cent of crops had been destroyed in some areas; thousands of heads of cattle had been swept away by floods; an enormous number of trees had been blown down; and several roads had been destroyed, as well as fishing and agricultural equipment.26 83. On the basis of a report published by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on 17 October 2016, the National Human Rights Defence Network (RNDDH) stated that, across the country, “546 deaths and 128 missing persons have been recorded. Of the 2,100,000 people affected by the hurricane, 1,400,000 are in a vulnerable situation and in need of humanitarian assistance and as many as 175,509 have been displaced”.27 These figures were provisional and there was every indication that they would rise significantly. 84. Several cases of cholera were recorded after the hurricane. In Grand’Anse Department alone, the Civil Defence Department reported 601 new cases as of 20 October and warned that the number of cases was increasing rapidly. 85. While recognizing the importance of the action taken by the national authorities and the international community to cope with this disaster, the Independent Expert believes that efforts should again be stepped up and that community work should be further developed so that any activities conducted in that connection become a source of employment and economic mobilization for the population and a catalyst for strengthening social ties and improving opportunities for the development of Haitian society as a whole. 86. The violation of human rights in Haiti in the wake of natural disasters is one of the five aspects identified as a priority by the Independent Expert in his previous reports. Haiti is particularly vulnerable to this risk, more so than many other countries, and the authorities must take appropriate measures both to prevent such crises and to repair the damage resulting from them quickly. 87. The Independent Expert wishes to recall that there are some 55,000 people still living in displaced persons camps six and a half years after the 2010 earthquake and that their situation needs to be resolved. These people continue to be forcibly evicted by the property owners, which means that their rights, already seriously violated, remain under constant threat. It was encouraging to learn that, in the end, the Government decided not to oppose the recommendation made during its universal periodic review to end all forced evictions from displaced persons camps and the other recommendations concerning displaced persons.28 The Independent Expert invites the Haitian authorities to discuss with him the reasons for their initial refusal to accept these recommendations. The Human 26 27 28 GE.17-03747 Grand’Anse Department Emergency Operations Centre, Hurricane Matthew. Situation report, memo, Jérémie, 20 Oct. 2016. “Passage of Hurricane Matthew through Haiti: RNDDH demands respect for human dignity from the Government of Haiti, political parties and humanitarian agencies”, 21 Oct. 2016, p. 4. A/HRC/34/14, para. 117. 15