DEATH TOLL IN HAITI FLOODS RISES TO 23
(AFP)
PORT-AU-PRINCE — The death toll in floods sweeping Haiti hit 23 Tuesday, officials said, adding the rains had caused considerable damage in the Caribbean nation still struggling to rebuild after a huge quake.
"Most of the victims were counted in Petionville, a suburb to the east of the capital where 13 people were killed, most when their houses collapsed or were swept away in mudslides," said Nadia Lochard, from the civil protection agency.
Seven people also died in Delmas, Carrefour and Christ-roi, all areas of the capital, Port-au-Prince, she told reporters. Three other people were killed in Centre region and Nippes to the west.
The flooding "had caused considerable material damage" in several parts of the capital where roads where cut off by downed trees and mudslides, added another official Yolaine Surena.
Haiti is in poor shape to withstand the seasonal wet weather, due to its crumbling infrastructure and ramshackle shelters for tens of thousands left homeless after the catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake in January 2010.
Health officials also fear an uptick in fatalities from a cholera outbreak that erupted in October.
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