I was sitting in Miami airport trying to make my way back to Haiti when tropical storm Gustav hit. I'd just finished my home leave and all flights were grounded.

Gustav's path of destruction wasn't surprising - most hurricanes crossing the Atlantic pass through Haiti - but Gustav's arrival saddened me because I know the devastation even a weak storm can cause.

Recent storms have hit the country harder than usual. Haiti suffers from severe environmental degradation because people cut down trees to sell or cook food. In a place where you have severe poverty, it's hard to prevent this - often it's people's livelihood and their only means of cooking food.

But the result is that many of the mountains have been stripped of their trees. The soil can no longer absorb rain, so it gushes down the mountains into the valleys where the majority of people live.

I was finally able to make it back to Haiti after Gustav passed. Our relief effort was under way - then Hanna hit.

She brought with her thunder and lightening. You could hear the winds blowing through the foundations of the buildings. The streets were cleared out as people headed for shelter.

Having lived through hurricane Dean and tropical storm Noel last year, I was expecting to see flooding, crop loss, some damage to homes and businesses. But the destruction I witnessed this time, especially in Gonaives city, took me by surprise.

Bridges had collapsed, roads were blocked and it wasn't until two or three days after Gustav had passed that we were finally able to get relief to the cities.

Aid agencies were forced to rent helicopters and build makeshift roads to get around. Some towns in the south are still very difficult to reach especially for big trucks loaded with food.

The level of people's desperation put aid convoys in a precarious situation. We need police escort to take shipments into Gonaives, and we have to use unmarked vehicles and avoid driving at night.

In Haiti now you see a lot of frustrated faces, a lot of sad faces, even resignation. Haitians have come to accept that they have to live with these storms. We try and show people that help is on the way, that they are not being asked to endure this alone.

We have to believe that as long as we keep working hard, the country's economic and political situation is going to improve.

The bottom line is that we can't let the prospect of destruction keep us from continuing the reconstruction and rehabilitation effort. We hope for the best and prepare for the worst. We move forward together.

The next storm, however, is always in the back of everyone's mind.

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