Haiti death toll from latest storm stands at eight

PORT-AU-PRINCE, CMC – Haitians officials say the latest storm to hit the impoverished French-speaking Caribbean country has killed at least eight people, bringing to 14 the number of people who have lost their lives due to the heavy rains over the past two weeks.



“Three people were carried away in overflowing rivers in the south,” civil protection official Jean Renel told reporters, adding that two adults and a young girl were also buried in a landslide, while two men were killed in floods.



Renel said several homes were destroyed and agricultural fields were flooded by the rains.



He said the damage to many roads in the southern part of the country, made it difficult to tally the number of storm victims.



“A UN helicopter carrying UN and Haitian officials in the affected areas was unable to land,” said Alta Jean-Baptiste, the civil protection chief.



Haitian officials said six people were killed on Friday during a flash storm that swept throughrefugee camps in the capital, Port-au-Prince, where at least 1 million Haitians are still temporarily housed in the wake of the January 12 earthquake.



The United Nations said aid workers have rushed to provide assistance in Haiti after the sudden rainstorms.



UN officials said the heavy rains and high winds to the city severely affected several of the camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs).



The UN said more than 40 teams comprising members of its own staff, aid agencies and the Haitian government have fanned out across Port-au-Prince to assess the damage, adding that a separate aerial assessment is also being conducted.



Soldiers with the UN peacekeeping mission, known as MINUSTAH, are also deployed across the city and helping residents who have been trapped by the storm or otherwise need assistance, the UN said.