At least three dead in Haiti rains, flooding

The death toll was reported on Tuesday, hours after rescuers began evacuating people in high-risk zones, where thousands of homes have been flooded and some 2,500 families have been displaced, AlJazeera reported.

The north of the country has been the hardest hit, with water filling the historic centre of the city of Cap-Haitien, and strong winds downing trees. Authorities said at least 20 districts across Haiti have been affected by the violent weather.

“We have 3 fatalities in the (Nord-Ouest department) and one person missing,” civil protection director Jerry Chandler told Reuters news agency in a text message.

The rains are the most recent natural disaster to strike the Caribbean nations, where death tolls are often high due to the poor state of housing and lacking infrastructure.

Authorities said the storm has affected areas that are still trying to recover from a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit the country in August, killing more than 2,000 people.

The rains also flooded a power plant and caused a bridge to collapse, leaving one community isolated.

ZZ/PR