According to news reports, hundreds of people are either dead or missing in communities along the arid southern border between these Caribbean countries. The floods triggered by several days of torrential rains have also left thousands homeless in some of the island's poorest areas.
IDB country offices in Santo Domingo and Port au Prince are in touch with Dominican and Haitian authorities, as well as international donors, to assess their nations' immediate needs and identify available loan resources that could be applied to assist the recovery.
The IDB plans to provide new loans from the Emergency Reconstruction Facility and has approved a grant to each of the countries to help with immediate humanitarian needs arising from these disasters.