At least 363 die in Dominican, Haitian floods
The death toll from flooding in the Dominican Republic and Haiti rose to at least 363 today as villagers desperately searched for loved ones feared swept away by the torrent of mud from swollen rivers.
Heavy rains caused the Solie River in the Dominican border town of Jimani to burst its banks, sweeping away wooden shacks in three neighbourhoods where thousands of Haitian migrants live.
Many were asleep when the torrent of mud swept through the town before daybreak on Monday.
“We can’t find her anywhere!” cried Norma Cuevas, 32, as she desperately searched for her 63-year-old mother among dozens of other families reaching their hands through mud yesterday.
An Associated Press reporter counted at least 180 bodies on the Dominican side of Hispaniola island by yesterday afternoon. Another 100 or so had been dumped in a mass grave, according to Lieutenant Virgilio Mejia, with the Dominican National Rescue Commission.
Haiti’s Interior Ministry said there were 83 confirmed deaths on the Haitian side but the toll was steadily rising as rescue workers and family members continued to pull corpses from the mud.
More than 250 were unaccounted for in the Dominican Republic and 62 were missing in Haiti.
More than 100 troops from the multinational force in Haiti flew to the town of Fond Verrette, ferrying bottled water, medical supplies and food, according to Colonel Dave Lapan, a spokesman for the force. Troops were expected to return today and would co-ordinate with aid agencies on relief and relocation efforts.
The 3,600-member multinational task force was sent to stabilise Haiti when President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was ousted during a three-week rebellion in February.
Around six miles outside of Jimani, emergency workers in surgical masks and white gloves watched as lorries dumped scores of corpses into a 15ft ditch.
The Dominican government had issued an alert on Sunday, warning people that rivers may swell with the rains. But Jimani – more than 100 miles west of the capital of Santo Domingo – has only limited access to radio broadcasts.
People whose houses still stood yesterday scooped water from their living rooms. Chairs and mattresses floated in deep pools of water as dark clouds threatened more rain. Hundreds of houses had been destroyed on both sides of the border.
As rescue workers and families pulled bodies from the mud, medical teams draped work areas with mosquito netting. The insects can carry parasites that cause malaria and dengue fever. Some people were also being given tetanus shots.
Many roads in both countries were still impassable.
