A weekend of torrential rains and widespread flooding in Haiti have left at least 42 people dead, 11 missing and some 19,000 homeless, the government’s disaster response agency said.
The Office of Civil Protection said the weather has left at least 7,475 families affected, and flooded at least 13,633 homes across several regional departments. The city of Léogâne, just south of Port-au-Prince, was most affected. The city also registered at least 11 deaths, Jerry Chandler, the head of the Office of Civil Protection, said Monday when the death toll still stood at about 30 and he cautioned the casualties were still preliminary.
By Monday afternoon, the numbers were updated to show that the damage is even more extensive than initially thought. At least 85 people have also been injured, authorities said, across seven of the country’s 10 regional departments.
“The biggest impact was in the West” region, Chandler said, referring to the area that encompasses the capital.
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, told reporters during the world body’s daily noon briefing in New York that “the situation is extremely worrying, given the hurricane season is only just beginning.”
“Even before the landslides and flooding, half the population of Haiti was in need of humanitarian assistance,” he said. “We urge donors to scale up the support for the country’s Humanitarian Response Plan, which is sadly only 20 percent funded, and it is an appeal for $720 million.”
In addition to residents being washed out of their homes, major health centers including GHESKIO in Port-au-Prince suffered damage because of the rainfall. In the case of the clinic it was flooded not only because of the rains but because the Bois de chêne canal, located next door, hasn’t been cleaned out the last five years. The center’s director, Dr. Jean William “Bill” Pape said many computers, although placed on elevated platforms, have been damaged by the rains.
Other regions in the environmentally vulnerable country that saw heavy damage were: the Northwest; the Nippes; and the Southeast where a boat capsized Saturday morning that resulted in the death of two passengers. Fourteen others were rescued.
“In the Center department, the agricultural sector is very impacted,” the agency said in a statement.
Also affected is a bridge that was submerged from overflowing river waters, and several roads have also been cut off by flooding and boulders. While the damage assessment is ongoing, Chandler said emergency response teams are mobilized and trying to support affected communities. Along with United Nations aid groups, Civil Protection volunteers are slowly deploying shelter, food, hygiene kits and drinking water to the more than 37,000 people affected.
