Haiti is a small country occupying the western half of the Island of Hispaniola, which it shares with Dominican Republic. The country’s geographic location in the path of Atlantic hurricanes, combined with steep topography from which all major rivers flow to the coast, makes the country particularly vulnerable to floods, cyclones, droughts, and landslides. Its vulnerability is exacerbated by extensive deforestation, which has left the upper reaches of its western basins bare.