Hurricanes kill about 1,000, injure 500 in Haiti in last two months

Source: Xinhua | 10-08-2008 11:14

HAVANA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) - Hurricanes Hanna and Ike have brought heavy casualties to Haiti in the last two months, leaving around 1,000 people dead and 500 injured, the Haitian Civil Defense (DC) said Tuesday.

Nearly 800 corpses were found, while the authorities said 310 people remained missing, possibly buried by collapsed buildings or mud-rock flows, according to reports reaching here from Port au Prince,

The hurricanes injured a further 500 people, who have not received proper medical treatment due to a lack of hospital resources, the DC added.

The DC also said hundreds of thousands of Haitians have been made homeless and they desperately need food, drinking water and places to sleep.

Gonaives, 152 kilometers north of Port au Prince, is one of the most affected areas. Almost one third of local residents lost everything, according to authorities.

Earlier official reports said that Hanna and Ike had devastated more than 100,000 houses in Haiti, and among them 22,000 were completely destroyed.

Haitian President Rene Preval said he is determined to deal with the disaster, while in the neighboring Dominican Republic the authorities are worried about a wave of refugees.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei