Floods: Death Toll May Reach 2,000
Find a Conversation
| Thu, 05-27-2004 - 9:37am |
This was reported came in only 3 Mins. ago.
Parts of the US are suffering from drought....... if only these rains could be diverted. This is devastating for any country but to these poverty ridden countries it's catastrophic.
Death Toll in Dominican, Haiti Flood May Reach 2,000, AP Says.
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000086&sid=aR1uiAuT6z0Y&refer=latin_america
As many as 1,000 people may have died in the Haitian town of Mapou, nearly doubling the known death toll in floods that have wiped out villages in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the Associated Press reported, citing government official Margarette Martin.
About 300 bodies have been recovered so far in Mapou, which is 30 miles southeast of the capital of Port-au-Prince, AP said, citing Doctor Yvon Lavissiere, the region's health director.
The death toll to date is about 950, but hundreds more may have died because houses were submerged in Mapou, a valley town of several thousand people, and rescuers saw bodies underwater that they couldn't reach, AP reported, citing Martin, who is the government's representative for the southeast region in nearby Jacmel.
Flooding and mudslides were caused by heavy rains during the past week in both countries, which share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.


International Relief Arriving in Flood-Ravaged Haiti, Dominican Republic.
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=AD82F129-19A5-44DC-A609B8B0633C18A4
International relief groups have begun delivering aid to Haiti and the Dominican Republic after devastating floods claimed about 900 lives earlier this week.
A team of U.N. humanitarian and non-governmental agencies was due in Haiti Wednesday to take aid to Fonds-Verrettes, among the hardest hit areas. With many roads still impassable, the team was using a helicopter owned by the U.S.-led multinational interim force in Haiti, which had arrived on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the World Food Program has released $200,000 in food aid to help victims in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which form the island of Hispaniola.
Officials say search crews continue to dig through mud and debris in hopes of finding survivors as hundreds of people remain unaccounted for from Monday's floods. Torrential rains caused a river to burst its banks, washing away hundreds of homes and people.
Interim Haitian Prime Minister Gerard Latortue has traveled to the region to view the devastation, while the Dominican Republic's president-elect, Leonel Fernandez, has been appealing for assistance during a visit to New York.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan offered condolences, saying he is saddened by the heavy loss of life. He said U.N. teams in Haiti and the Dominican Republic are currently assessing the extent of needs created by the flooding.
Pope John Paul, meanwhile, has offered prayers for the families and the victims of the disaster. He sent sympathy telegrams to authorities in both Caribbean countries, assuring the homeless and other survivors that he is with them spiritually.
Update: Dominican Republic/ Haiti Floods.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/108575688185.htm
SITUATION: The death toll from flooding in Haiti and the Dominican Republic may rise substantially and could easily exceed 2,000, officials have said.
Some 950 deaths have been confirmed, the Associated Press (AP) reported today; but as many as 1,000 may have died in the Haitian town of Mapou, in southeast Haiti, about 30 miles southeast of the capital of Port-au-Prince. The worst flooding occurred in border areas in eastern Haiti and in the western section of the Dominican Republic.
Lorenzo Mota King, head of long-time CWS partner Social Service of Dominican Churches (SSID), reported earlier this week that the Soleil River, on the Haitian side of the island Hispanola, grew rapidly due to rains and that the river, known as "Rio Blanco" in the Dominican Republic, had been "dry" for more than 100 years - which is why the storm and resulting flooding stunned residents in affected areas.
RESPONSE: Church World Service Disaster Liaison Don Tatlock, who has been in Haiti since May 15 assisting partners there with the ongoing Haitian humanitarian crisis, has helped coordinate a CWS response with local Haitian and Dominican partners that includes the reallocation of a food shipment to flood survivors in Haiti.
At the request of partners in Haiti -- Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and Service Chrétien d'Haiti (SCH) -- Church World Service has approved the reallocation of a food shipment to flood survivors that had originally been intended for use in response to Haiti's recent social and political unrest. Also being reallocated are portions of another food shipment to SSID that will now be used for the emergency flood response in the Dominican Republic.
Martin Coria, CWS staff, is in the Dominican Republic this week and is conferring with SSID about other needs and possible responses.
Today, SSID is conducting an assessment in affected areas and is also meeting with members of the Commission of Haitian-Dominican Dialogue, who are conducting their own assessment on both sides of the border. SSID is sending food rations, clothing, medicines and potable water to affected areas.
The CWS partners in Haiti are seeking support from the Action by Churches Together (ACT) International network from the ACT Rapid Response Fund to support immediate needs; Church World Service will shortly issue an appeal based on both immediate needs and long-term recovery efforts based on further assessments by CWS partners in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Contributions to support this emergency appeal may be sent to your denomination or to Church World Service, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN, 46515. Please designate: #6743 - Haiti/Dominican Republic Floods. To make a credit card contribution, please visit our online donation page, or phone (800) 297-1516.
It raining like the dickens here. Glad I'm on high ground.
More floods: http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-2/108575726727861.xml
Floods threaten homes