May 28, 2004
Relief Teams Scramble as Caribbean Flood Toll Grows
Reuters

Rescue workers rushed beans and rice, drinking water, chlorine tablets and first-aid kits on Thursday to a remote Haitian town submerged by floods that killed an estimated 2,000 people on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.

By Joseph Guyler Delva

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (Reuters) - Rescue workers rushed beans and rice, drinking water, chlorine tablets and first-aid kits on Thursday to a remote Haitian town submerged by floods that killed an estimated 2,000 people on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.

Across the border in the Dominican Republic, authorities prepared for an aerial fumigation to prevent disease in hard-hit Jimani, a town where flood waters crashed through in the night and killed hundreds of men, women and children, dumping some of their bodies into a lake full of crocodiles.

An official on Wednesday reported 1,000 deaths in Mapou, a village southeast of Haiti's capital, dramatically raising the death toll from flash floods and mudslides triggered by torrential rains in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The toll in Haiti stood at about 1,660, while 350 bodies had been recovered in the Dominican Republic, mostly in Jimani, near the Haitian border.

Foreign troops sent to Haiti after a rebellion in February turned to relief efforts, providing helicopter flights to aid agencies trying to reach survivors isolated when floods washed out roads across southeastern Haiti.

"Mapou is in the middle of a valley and the village is practically under water," said Lt. Col. David Lapan, spokesman for the multinational force. "It is like a lake when you look at it from the air."

Heavy rains last weekend sent rivers of mud and debris through villages, sweeping away shanties and burying residents on both sides of the Haiti-Dominican Republic border.

Haiti confronted its worst natural disaster in years less than three months after a rebellion killed more than 200 people and helped oust President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

The 3,500-member U.S.-led peacekeeping force sent to Haiti by the United Nations (news - web sites) sent a fleet of helicopters shuttling between Port-au-Prince and the stricken areas in a race against thunderstorms that threatened more misery.

RACING AHEAD OF THUNDERSTORMS

They carried staples like beans and rice, chlorine tablets to purify water, shovels and other emergency supplies to Mapou, about 25 miles southeast of the capital, and Fond Verettes, a border town where at least 158 died.

"We're trying to get as much out as we can before the weather stops us from flying," Lapan said. "The forecast right now is rain today, tomorrow and possibly into Saturday. A lot will depend on how much rain we get."

Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas and four out of five of its 8 million people live in poverty. The barren land is vulnerable to floods and mudslides because people have virtually stripped it of trees to make charcoal cooking fuel.

Even in the best of conditions, remote Mapou can take three or four hours to reach from Jacmel, the nearest city on the south coast, said Sheyla Biamby, a spokeswoman for Catholic Relief Services in Haiti.

"It is a small town, there is no road access," she said. "It is very alarming, not many people can reach it to bring food and water."

International aid groups issued a call for help from around the world. "We need to act very urgently," said Roromme Chantal, information officer for the United Nations Development Program. "The situation in Mapou is very, very dangerous and much worse than we expected it to be."

On the Dominican side, President Hipolito Mejia, who declared Thursday a national day of mourning, flew to Jimani and also appealed for international aid. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez sent a planeload of food and relief supplies.

Jimani was devastated by raging water that swept bodies as far as 12 miles downriver. Some of the victims were found in Lago Enriquillo, a lake that is home to a large population of crocodiles.

The Red Cross reported 350 dead. Authorities said about 300 others were missing and 620 homes severely damaged.

Authorities planned an aerial spraying of Jimani to prevent the spread of disease from decomposing corpses that had to be buried before they could be identified. Dozens were interred in mass graves. (Additional reporting by Manuel Jimenez in Jimani)

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