Based on a statement issued by the nation’s Civil Protection Agency on Monday, severe rains over the weekend caused thousands of homes in Haiti to flood, resulting in at least 42 fatalities and 85 injuries.
Following the United Nations assessment, the heavy rains forced many rivers in Haiti to overflow, which in turn triggered flash floods, flooding, rockslides, and landslides.
In five of Haiti’s ten departments—the West, Nippes, South-East, North-West, and the Center—more than 13,300 people have been displaced, and at least 11 more have been reported missing.
“My government, in concert with national and international institutions, is taking urgent measures in order to meet the demands of the hour,” Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry tweeted.
The death toll climbed steadily on Monday as persistent heavy rains continued to pelt down.
Emergency response teams and aid organizations have been mobilized in order to tend to those impacted by the floods.
“We’ll start providing hot meals to displaced people in the coming hours & are mobilizing ready-to-eat rations & dry food,” the World Food Programme said in a tweet.
The floods are the latest calamity to strike a country with already weak infrastructure, which has been repeatedly wracked with criminal violence, political turmoil and natural disasters in recent years.
The Caribbean nation depends heavily on humanitarian assistance.
The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned on Monday that flooding could resume with more rain in coming days.
“In the event of another heavy rainfall, the waterlogged soils will be unable to prevent further flooding, rockslides and landslides, and the provisional death toll could rise even higher,” it said.
The danger is expected to continue through hurricane season, which began on June 1.