The death toll in Haiti, following the destruction caused by tropical storm Jeanne, has reportedly risen to around 600.
According to the BBC News website, aid agencies have counted at least 500 bodies in the northern city of Gonaives, while there have been another 50-plus deaths in the town of Port-de-Paix.
The island of La Tortue is reported to be “barely visible” because it has been inundated with so much water. The storm has also reportedly killed 11 people in the neighbouring Dominican Republic.
The destruction appears not to have been caused specifically by the strong winds associated with the storm, but the two days of torrential rain that followed it, causing rivers to burst their banks.
Some houses have been flooded with water as much as 13 feet deep, the BBC reports. Emergency provisions are now heading towards the stricken city of Gonaives, courtesy of the UN World Food programme.
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd
