5 Dead, 19 Missing After Flooding Rains Strike Haiti; Other Caribbean Nations Hit Too

Pam Wright
Published: May 19,2017

Men walk holding a motorcycle in a partially flooded street by the rains during this afternoon, in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, on May 2, 2017.
(Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images)

Heavy rains and flooding have left five people dead and at least 19 missing in Haiti, the country's Department of Civil Protection said Thursday.
A 17-year-old girl and a 24-year-old woman died in Port-de Paix in northwest Haiti after attempting to cross raging waters, according to Haiti Libre. A 49-year-old man also died under the same conditions in Saint-Louis du Nord.
In Beaumont, a woman was killed when she tried to cross a river and a child died in Grande-Anse when his parents tried to evacuate their home to take refuge with a neighbor.
Anywhere from 3 to 12 inches of rainfall occurred in southwestern Haiti on Wednesday, says weather.com meteorologist Linda Lam. This comes on the heels of several days of heavy rainfall.
The torrential rain caused streams, rivers and ravines to overflow, damaging infrastructure.
(MORE: Hurricane Matthew Leaves 'Catastrophic' Devastation in Haiti)
The coastal Grande-Anse region of southern Haiti was hardest hit, with more than 300 people seeking shelter from the rising waters. Nineteen fishermen from two towns in the area are reported missing.
Haiti has been grappling with a heavy rainy season this year, particularly so in its vulnerability after the devastation from Category-4 Hurricane Matthew, which tore into the country last October before setting its sights on the U.S. East Coast.
Other Caribbean nations are suffering similar conditions, including the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, where flooding has caused damage to bridges, closed roads and triggered landslides.
According to The Watchers, Jamaica's Rio Minho overflowed its banks in several sections of northern Clarendon, causing significant damage in several communities.
Authorities have issued alerts warning of possible outbreaks of gastroenteritis and leptospirosis.
MORE: Aerials of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti

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