PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Torrential downpours led to flash flooding across Haiti this week, claiming the lives of dozens of people and displacing thousands of families.
A low-pressure system brought intense rainstorms across Haiti on June 3, causing numerous rivers to overflow, flash flooding and landslides in many areas, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The rain began two days after the start of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.
Officials with Haiti’s Civil Protection Department have confirmed at least 42 deaths due to the flooding event, with 11 people still missing. More than 13,500 homes have been flooded, forcing 15,000 people to leave.
The department said the flooding is most severe in the West, and the country’s agricultural sector has also received a major hit.
Rescue operations are ongoing across multiple municipalities where access to roads and communities has been cut off due to the water.
Civil Protection, Haitian Red Cross and Semanah teams have been conducting rescue operations since Saturday, according to the Civil Protection Department.
As flooding still inundated the country, an earthquake struck early Tuesday morning near the city of Jeremie.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake was recorded at 5:11 a.m. local time and registered as a 4.9 magnitude with a depth of 6.2 miles.
The Associated Press reports three people were killed when a house collapsed during the earthquake.