Haiti death toll rises, thousands more homes flood as rain threat continues

The first days of Haiti’s rainy season continue to prove destructive and deadly for the country’s vulnerable population. The death toll from heavy rains has risen to 17, while the number of homes flooded has doubled to more than 4,000, the country’s Civil Protection authorities said.

Most of the destruction has occurred in the northern region of the country in Haiti’s second largest city, Cap-Haïtien, the office said in its most recent update on the weather-related disaster.

The report shows that in addition to the loss of lives, more than 4,910 homes have been flooded while at least 40 homes have been either been damaged or destroyed during the rains.

On Monday, the office warned Haitians to remain on alert because the soil remains saturated and rain and thunderstorms were expected in the West, Southeast, Northwest, Grand’Anse and Nippes regions of the country.

“Between April 28 and May 2, the country experienced two deadly events, particularly in the Northwest and North departments,” the agency said.

The heavy rains in late April had already led to a landslide in Port-de-Paix, which killed at least three people in the same family, including a six-year-old child, the agency said. Moderate to heavy rains days later on May 1 and 2 led to the deaths of 13 people in Cap-Haïtien, including 12 in a landslide.

“The city is very much in a critical situation as a result of the rains that continue,” Cap-Haïtien Mayor Yvrose Pierre said. “The city is impassable. Even where we used to get rid of the waste, we can’t because of the flooding the roads are blocked. There are roads that are practically impossible to get through.”

Pierre said Cap-Haïtien, affectionately known as Okap, needs support from the central government, which currently collects all of the revenues that come into the city, whether it’s the taxes from Royal Caribbean International’s port stop at Labadee or from the Hugo Chavez International Airport, which today has become the only way out of Haiti.

“When I talk about profound support, I am talking about the canals, the ravines that have not been drained for 10 years,” she said. “We need to not only remove people off the mountains, but we need to reforest the mountain to prevent the landslides.”

“I believe the city merits an emergency intervention,” she added.

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