Since the January 12 earthquake left millions of Haitians homeless, with most living in formal and informal tent camps, there has been a fear that if more sturdy housing is not prepared before the rainy and hurricane seasons, there could be more devastation.

Well, the rainy season has arrived, and worst, the 2010 hurricane season is also at hand, and thousands of people are still homeless.

The Haitian government has come under severe criticism, including calls for President Rene Préval to step down, because of the government’s tardiness in providing more sturdy shelter for more people. Also, there has been no evidence of firm emergency and evacuation plans being developed by the government should a hurricane strike. Most of the buildings, like churches and schools that were usually used as shelter from hurricanes, were destroyed in the earthquake.

According to an AP report, one of Haiti’s prominent public health experts estimates that only one percent of the thousands who sought refuge in dangerous flood zones after the quake has been relocated.

Reports from some of the over 1,200 tent camps are that heavy rains since May flooded the camps, making life more miserable for residents, who complain of their paltry belongings, including bedding and clothing, being soaked. Additionally, the resulting stagnant water in and nearby the camps present a persistent threat of disease from mosquitoes and increase unsanitary conditions.

Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive told the AP that the government has been preparing contingency plans for the hurricane season, predicted to include up to 23 named storms.

In 2008, five storms hit Haiti in a matter of weeks. The prime minister said the plans include the creation of a response team to cope with rain emergencies in the tent camps.

Janelle Louise, who recently returned from visiting relatives in Haiti, said the situation in Port-au-Prince and nearby areas “is beyond critical. Over a million people live in tents; some just makeshift shelter made from sheets, tarps, and pieces of zinc. If there is even a tropical depression with heavy rainfall, I fear that the resulting disaster could be worse than the earthquake. It’s like waiting to see ‘January 12 Part 2’.”

Louise said in all fairness to the government, despite aid from the international community, it has little infrastructure in which to function. Plus, she said the acquisition to obtain land to build more sturdy shelters is a problem.

Reports are that the Haitian government has so far provided relatively safer shelter for only 7,000 people.

Louise said that agencies like the Salvation Army were building small houses for some displaced residents. “However, regardless of how fast the government, the Salvation Army and the United Nations were to build, they will not be able to provide enough secure shelter for the tens of thousands of people who are displaced, before hurricane season ends in November. That’s a big problem.”

Although the Haitian government has set up temporary tent camps, some are located in areas susceptible flash floods and landslides when it rains heavily.

A Miami Herald report stated that the International Organization for Migration has determined that engineers must inspect 120 camps in Port-au-Prince because of concerns about flooding, landslides or standing water from heavy rains. Based on these inspections measures will be taken to make the camps safer.