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More than 500 feared killed by floods in the
Dominican Republic and Haiti
More than 500 people are
feared killed in the Dominican Republic and Haiti after flooding and mud
slides swamped villages and settlements in the neighboring Caribbean
countries yesterday.
Weeks of incessant rain on
the island of Hispaniola, which the two countries share, caused rivers to
burst their banks and surge into villages, sweeping away people and houses
and burying victims under mud and debris.
Some bodies were carried for
six miles. Power and phone lines to several small towns were cut and
thousands were left homeless.
The worst affected area in
Haiti was the town of Fond Verrettes, where floodwaters rose from a dry
riverbed and washed away hundreds of buildings.
At least 158 people were
killed in the town alone, and at least another 50 in the wider region,
local officials said.
In the Dominican Republic
the border town of Jimani was swamped on Monday after 25cm (10in) of rain
fell in 24 hours. About 135 people were killed and another 200 missing are
feared dead, officials said. Ten others died elsewhere in the republic.
Survivors were reduced to
clawing through the mud for missing relatives. Canadian troops and US
marines were flying helicopters with water and relief supplies to the worst
hit part of Haiti.
More rain was forecast for
the region yesterday.
The flooding was the worst
on the island since a 1994 tropical storm triggered mudslides, which killed
more than 800 people in Haiti. *
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*Source: The Guardian
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