Several people died over the weekend in flooding caused by heavy rains in Haiti’s North and North-West regions, local media reported. The torrential rains on Mar. 4 and 5 also wrecked homes and businesses, severely disrupted main traffic roads and left scores of people stranded..
At least two people were found dead in Limbé, a commune in the Limbé Arrondissement, in the North department according to the daily Le Nouvelliste. In Bas-Limbé, two people were reported dead as of late Sunday. The lifeless body of Delarue Gracia, 50, was found in the communal town of Chamette. The waters also swept away another fifty-year-old, Hélène Pierre, in the communal town Garde Champêtre.
Local residents also suspect that some banana merchants from Cap-Haitien may have been swept away in the flooding, according to daily Le Nouvelliste.
At least 500 victims had to go to temporary shelters available at the Administration of Civil Protection during the flooding.
In Limbé, residents of Fouwo, Selan, Place d’Armes, Tama and in the Grand Rue were stranded and seen wading through the flood waters. The Joseph Le Pévédic School also housing the Sainte Croix College, the Ste Agnès Sisters, and the Catholic Church were all flooded.
Owners of small and medium-sized businesses such as pharmacies, hardware stores have suffered enormous losses.
The city of Port-de-Paix was temporarily cut off from the lower part of the northwest department as roads and the main river became impassable.