Haiti and Dominican Republic fight to recover from floods disaster

HELICOPTERS loaded with drinking water and medicine touched down yesterday in remote villages devastated by floods in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

On the Dominican side, another 23 bodies were recovered overnight near the border town of Jimani, where corpses were washing downstream into a saltwater lake crowded with crocodiles.

In Haiti, bodies floated near the tops of palm trees, and thousands of survivors were isolated by mudslides. Forecasters were still predicting more rain.

With few roads passable and only 14 helicopters, troops were trying to find other ways to reach the needy, said Lt. Col. Dave Lapan, spokesman for the US-led multinational force in Haiti.

Helicopters that went in yesterday carried inflatable rubber boats and shovels and pick axes to allow troops and relief workers to reach far-flung villages, he said.

The UN World Food Programme loaded 8,000 tons of food on to a helicopter bound for the southern town of Mapou, where most houses were under water and some 1,000 people were feared dead.

The WFP was considering using barges to bring more food to coastal villages. "The need is extreme," said Guy Gavreau, a spokesman for WFP.

The Haitian government's official death toll climbed to 579 as about 165 people, including 45 children, were declared dead in the border town of Fond-Verrettes. Few bodies were found there after floods swept away most houses.

At least 442 bodies were recovered in the Dominican Republic, a number of them Haitian migrants who had crossed over to work as sugar cane cutters or market vendors.

The hundreds of missing fed fears that the final toll could climb as high as 2,000 in the deadliest floods to hit Hispaniola island in recent memory.

US Marines delivered drinking water and chlorine tablets to hundreds in Mapou, where officials have confirmed 300 dead so far. The town's one health clinic was under water, so some of the wounded were being flown out by helicopter for treatment.

UN teams were trying to arrange boats to help recover bodies trapped under trees and in houses.

"You can still see bodies in the water coming up," said Michel Matera, a UN technical adviser for disasters who travelled to Mapou on Thursday.

If workers can't recover corpses soon, he warned that could contaminate water sources. "There is a grave risk of an epidemic."

An estimated 10,000 people in 26 villages surrounding Mapou are in urgent need of help, Mr Matera said.

The floods struck early on Monday following three days of heavy rains, triggering torrents that swept away entire neighbourhoods.

In the Haitian town of Fond-Verrettes, UN officials brought plastic tarpaulins for shelter, while a team from France-based Doctors Without Borders treated villagers with injuries. Matera said the World Food Programme distributed 13 tons of food aid in the town.