Haiti: Hurricanes and the human story

Two men stand on the roof of their flooded home in Gonaives, Haiti, following tropical storm Hanna. Extreme weather and climate change are having a devastating effect on poor people's lives and livelihoods worldwide. The Guardian has joined Oxfam to trace the lives of people living in Haiti. Every year, tropical storms wreak havoc, causing landslides and floods – and climate change is expected to make this even worse. Already, Haitians are noticing changes in the weather - and it's the poorest communities (in the poorest country in the western hemisphere) who bear the brunt.

Oxfam in Haiti

North Haiti: A training exercise which teaches them how to save lives in a flood [Credit: Abbie Trayler-Smith] Oxfam has been working in Haiti on disaster reduction since 2003. Helping people be better prepared not only saves lives and property but stops the downward spiral of poverty caused by relentless climate-related emergencies. You can help by donating direct to projects in Haiti.

Haiti: how your money can help

Oxfam and climate change

Bangladesh: Sufia, 35, and women working as day labourers, help to raise the ground beneath her home above the flood level. [Credit: Dan Chung] Oxfam is working with communities in countries like Haiti and Bangladesh to deal with the increasingly disastrous effects of climate change. We're also piling the pressure on world leaders to drastically reduce their carbon emissions and deliver a fair global climate deal.