"Dozens die in Haiti storms"

Staff and agencies
Monday September 20, 2004

Tropical Storm Jeanne brought mudslides and flooding to Haiti, killing at least 90 people in the last few days as emergency services struggle to reach families stranded in the worst hit areas.

Two days of rain sent torrents down mountains in the country's Artibonite and North-west provinces, causing rivers to burst their banks, civil defence officials said.

The floods tore through the coastal town of Gonaives and outlying districts, covering crops and roads.

Much of Gonaives was still under waist-deep water yesterday and aid workers were finding it difficult to evacuate all those in need, said a spokesman for the interior ministry.

Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue declared the town a disaster area and called on the international community to provide immediate humanitarian aid. "We don't know how many dead there are," he said.

The Catholic humanitarian agency Caritas Internationalis collected 62 bodies in pickup trucks and counted another 18 at one morgue in Gonaives, said Reverend Venel Suffrard, the organisation's local director.

A further 10 people were reported to have been killed in other parts of the country and Rev Suffrard said he expected the toll to rise.

Residents said the floods caught Gonaives by surprise on Saturday night. Jean-Baptiste Agilus, a 46-year-old teacher, said he watched the deluge engulf local houses, sweeping away one woman with her two children. "The water rushed into their home, all the homes in the neighbourhood," he said. "It destroyed everything."

Full Article : guardian.co.uk