The most impoverished nation in the Western Hemisphere has a new crisis on top of cholera and the slow recovery from the killer earthquake four years ago:  Drought is causing an extreme emergency in northeast Haiti, wiping out sorely needed crops and livestock.

Government officials and air workers are to meet this week to work out a plan on assisting the 1.5 million people in the region that’s worst affected.  The hardship is evident in schools where there’s food but no water in some, and no food or water in others. 

The drought began eight months ago, when a second rainy season that normally begins in August didn't begin until two to three weeks later, and was much drier than usual.  Northeastern Haiti received very little rainfall.  The US government’s Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) that tracks weather patterns, agricultural production and food prices is predicting a food crisis for several regions of Haiti if the current weather conditions continue.

The country has yet to fully recover from the 2010 earthquake that killed 100,000 to 300,000 people and leveled much of the capital Port-au-Prince.