The international Red Cross warned Tuesday that a rainy season peaking in mid-May would spark "minor disasters" in Haiti, where 1.3 million people remain homeless after January's deadly quake.
"There is certain to be … a long series of minor disasters caused by the rainy season throughout the quake zone in the improvised settlements which we'll have to do our utmost to mitigate," said Alex Wynter, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Haiti.
Some 38,000 people could be potentially affected by the rainy season, as their shelter lies in zones that are prone to flooding and landslides, said the ICRC.
"Within these, 9,000 people are in effect sitting on river beds and certain to be washed away if they are not moved," added Wynter.
The ICRC is planning to set up warehouses in six strategic points around the country in order to rapidly distribute relief items to the population if a disaster strikes.
The relief agency also wants to create a command and communication hub ahead of the hurricane season which is expected to begin June.
"The hurricane season of course is a Russian roulette, it's pot luck. They might get a hurricane, they might not," said Wynter, adding that coastal areas would be "particularly vulnerable."
The January 12 quake killed more than 220,000 people and left around 1.3 million homeless.
While many survivors are still without permanent shelter three months after the quake, UN agencies noted that many have received some form of aid or other.
The World Health Organisation said 500,000 have been vaccinated against tetanus, diphteria, measles and rubella in the past three months.
The UN Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs also said that more than 3.5 million people have received food relief, and 1.3 million now have access to drinking water daily.
"The humanitarian response has allowed us to avoid the worst, but there is still a lot to do," said Christiane Berthiaume, spokeswoman for the UN children's fund Unicef.
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