LASCAHOBAS, Haiti (AlertNet) - Heading out northeast from Port-au-Prince, passing lush fields, lakes and picturesque mountain scenery, it is easy to forget that a massive earthquake ravaged the Haitian capital, just a two-hour drive away.
In the town of Lascahobas, like other rural towns and villages across Haiti, there are no signs of the destruction of the Jan. 12 earthquake. Local businesses here have remained open and the town's church and houses, made of adobe and concrete, are intact.
But Lascahobas and other towns in surrounding rural provinces are feeling the impact of the earthquake in a different way. Thousands of homeless Haitians are leaving the capital, crammed onto free buses provided by the government, to seek shelter and food in the countryside where living conditions are relatively better.
So far, some 200,000 have left Port-au-Prince and other quake-hit cities. This number is expected to rise to 1 million, says the United Nations, putting pressure on already vulnerable communities and local food and water supplies.
In the last week, over 1,000 people from Port-au-Prince have descended on the town of Lascahobas, some 33 miles to the northeast of the capital. Some are staying with friends and relatives, others have found room with locals.
"We raised awareness about the displaced families settling here over the radio and we're encouraging people to take in families, and help them any way they can," said Lubin Gregory, an official from the local mayor's office.
Many Haitians are afraid to sleep indoors following the 7.0 earthquake and a series of smaller aftershocks, still being felt nearly every day. They prefer to camp out on the streets, pavements and in squares where they feel safer.
AID FOCUSED ON CAPITAL
While aid agencies are looking to extend the distribution of food, tents and medicine beyond Port-au-Prince, the relief effort is still largely focused on the capital. In the countryside, local authorities are struggling to cope with the sudden influx of families.
"We're happy to receive displaced families here, but their needs are so great, they need housing and clothes, things we canÂ?t provide," said Gregory.
Few local authorities have received government help.
"We've been left to our own devices," said Gregory. "WeÂ?re still waiting for the government to help us. We've been in touch with government ministers but weÂ?re still waiting for the government to call us back."
Local officials are relying on aid from the U.N. and the myriad of international aid agencies taking part in the relief effort in Haiti. The U.S. military and U.N. peacekeeping troops are helping to distribute food aid.
"Everyone wants and needs food. People are hungry. They have nothing," said Lieutenant Colonel Mohan Pratap Singh Karki, who heads a Nepalese U.N. peacekeeping contingent based near Lascahobas town. "The difficult part is identifying who has been displaced and who has not been, so that those who need food the most get it."
Displaced families in Lascahobas have been issued with pink stamped tickets to ensure they receive food aid.
QUEUES FOR AID
Flanked by two heavy armoured vehicles and several cars carrying a dozen or so U.N. peacekeeping soldiers, three food trucks loaded with water and ready-to-eat meal packs park in a pre-arranged spot in Lascahobas.
Around 800 people, including a woman clutching a new born baby, elderly men and women, and children form an orderly line as they wait patiently under a scorching midday sun.
"You can't just turn up and hand out food without prior planning and co-ordination," said Karki. "We work closely with the local authorities and they tell us when and where we can distribute the aid. We just provide the security but they hand out the food."
Some local residents try to barge in the queue and a few scramble for food tickets being given out randomly by a local official, causing brief havoc. But the crowd remains calm as U.N. riot police and armed soldiers stand on guard. It takes over two hours to hand out two truck loads of food and water.
For James Jean Mary, who recently left Port-au-Prince with his parents and 10 siblings, the food handouts are a lifeline.
"We lost everything, our home, everything. We have no means of getting food," said the 22-year-old electrical engineering student."
"I want to carry on with my studies, but obviously thatÂ?s not possible at the moment. Who knows when weÂ?ll return to Port-au-Prince," he added.
The local hospital is also feeling the strain. Basic medicines are running out and several nurses working here left for Port-au-Prince to treat the injured there within hours of the earthquake striking.
"Our hospital doesn't have enough equipment, medicine or staff to receive the people who are arriving here injured," said Gregory from the mayor's office.
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