Rain triggers deadly floods in Haiti
By admin. Filed in Uncategorized |
At least eight people have been killed in floods triggered by heavy
rain in Haiti, officials have said.
The deaths occurred in or near the southeastern port city of Les Cayes
which was swamped by more than 1.5m (5ft) of water.
Officials said buildings affected included a hospital and a prison
where more than 400 inmates were evacuated.
About a million Haitians are still homeless following January’s
earthquake which killed up to 230,000 people.
The floods have come several weeks ahead of Haiti’s traditional rainy
season.
“The situation is grave… whole areas are completely flooded. People
have climbed on to the roofs of their homes,” local senator Francky
Exius told AFP news agency.
Witnesses said some homes had collapsed and people were fleeing for
safer areas.
At least two people are reported missing in the floods. One report puts
the death toll at 11.
Staff at the flooded hospital in Les Cayes moved patients to the safety
of higher floors, reports say, while UN peacekeepers helped police to
evacuate the jail.
Les Cayes lies on a peninsula 160km (100 miles) west of the capital
Port-au-Prince.
It was unaffected by the earthquake, but its 70,000 population has been
swollen by survivors fleeing from earthquake-hit areas.
