People cross flooded Highway 2 in L'Acul, west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, June 3, 2023. Photo: AFP
According to AFP news agency on June 6, bad weather has hit 7 out of 10 provinces of Haiti, a country already mired in a prolonged humanitarian crisis due to gang violence, political collapse and economic stagnation.
Heavy rains over the weekend triggered floods and landslides that have left at least 42 people dead and 11 missing, Haitian civil protection officials said.
Meanwhile, according to the United Nations, these severe rains also affected 37,000 people and forced 13,400 people to evacuate.
The town of Leogane, located 40 km southwest of the capital Port-au-Prince, was particularly badly affected by three flooded rivers.
At least 20 people died there, according to Haitian officials.
"People are desperate. They have lost everything. The water has destroyed their fields, washed away their livestock," Leogane Mayor Ernson Henry told AFP.
Thousands of families in the town were affected and people were in dire need of food, water and medicine, according to Mr. Henry.
Flooding has caused extensive property damage across Haiti, destroying hundreds of homes and damaging several roads.
"Although this is not a hurricane or a tropical storm, the damage observed in the affected areas is enormous," said Jean-Martin Bauer, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Haiti.
In response, Prime Minister Ariel Henry activated the National Emergency Operations Center.
The devastating toll highlights Haiti's vulnerability to natural disasters and its failure to mitigate the risks posed by hurricanes just as hurricane season is about to begin.
Even before the floods, nearly half of Haiti's population needed humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations, and that number has doubled in just five years.
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