After heavy rains, water masses roll over the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. At least 42 people die in floods and landslides in Haiti.
Port-au-Prince – Landslides and floods devastate Haiti. At the weekend, there was heavy rainfall on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola and flooding as a result.
Floods and landslides in Haiti: death toll rises to 42 – videos show deluge
In the meantime, the death toll has risen to at least 42, the civil protection authority announced on Monday. Another eleven people are missing, 85 are injured. The deluge hit large parts of the country over the weekend. At least 13,633 homes were flooded, according to authorities. Videos show how the water rushes mercilessly over the island. Cars, signs and people are washed away by the water masses.
The region around the capital, Port-au-Prince, was hit particularly hard. 19 people died in the nearby coastal town of Léogâne, writes the portal “Juno 7”, citing the head of civil protection, Jerry Chandler.
Hurricane season has begun: storms and rain hit Caribbean region
The hurricane season has just started and lasts from June to November. The effects of this should be felt as far away as Germany. In the Caribbean, the force of nature rages directly. Arlene, the first tropical cyclone of the season strong enough to be named, formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Friday. In Europe, a storm flooded the holiday island of Mallorca.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas and experiences severe natural disasters time and time again, including devastating earthquakes like the one in 2010, which killed more than 200,000 people. Deforestation, primarily for charcoal, also makes the state, which shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, more vulnerable to landslides. (moe/dpa)
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