16697: (Chamberlain) Haiti-Flood Toll (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   PORT-AU-PRINCE, Sept 9 (AP) -- The death toll from flash flooding in
western Haiti two weeks ago has risen to 24, officials said Tuesday.
   Hours of torrential rains caused rivers to burst over their banks and
flood the town of St. Marc, about 45 miles northwest of the capital,
Port-au-Prince.
   Authorities initially reported that 11 people dead and several missing.
Since then, 13 bodies have been recovered, government civil defense
director Yolene Surena said. Authorities don't expect the death toll to
rise.
   Seventy people were also injured and 12,000 people left homeless, Surena
said. About 400 homes were destroyed and 400 damaged when the raging waters
tore away flimsy tin-roofed shacks built on the banks of the Grande
Riviere.
   The Haitian government created a $25,000 emergency fund to supply food
to the flood victims. International donors also have contributed, including
$82,000 from the United States.