22364: (Chamberlain) Haiti-Flood Aid (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By AMY BRACKEN

   MAPOU, Haiti, June 13 (AP) -- A U.N.-chartered helicopter ferried food
and aid to survivors in this flood-ravaged town Sunday, three weeks after
the floods devastated communities along the Haiti-Dominican border.
   Mapou in the southeast was still partly submerged from the May 24 floods
that left more than 3,300 dead or missing, with most of the deaths on the
Haitian side.
   "It's still an emergency situation because you can see all the people
who are hungry who came for food," said Sylera Guillaume, an official with
the U.N. Development Program's disaster unit.
   About 400 children stood in line to receive 1,100 pounds of fortified
biscuits brought in on a helicopter chartered by the U.N. World Food
Program.
   The aid workers brought 7.7 tons of rice, vegetable oil, biscuits and
wheat-Soya blend. More than 2,000 gallons of drinking water were flown in.
   The Japanese government donated almost 2 tons of generators, tents,
blankets, water buckets and mattresses and plastic sheets for shelter,
officials said.
   Some in the area say they want to be relocated for fear that more
flooding could hit. It was raining again on Sunday.
   Much of Haiti is heavily deforested, putting some areas at high risk
because there are few roots to hold back raging waters and mudslides.
   "I think there will be another flood (at my family's house)," said
resident Junior Saint Louis, 20. "I want to move, but we don't have the
means. We're awaiting help from organizations."
   Several families have been moved to the nearby town of Grand Fond on a
hillside outside Mapou.
   Aid agencies have said they are struggling to reach isolated villages
due to a shortage of helicopters. Many of the areas aren't reachable by
roads, which were washed out.