At least 23 killed in floods, mudslides in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Heavy rain hammered southern Haiti for a seventh straight day Tuesday, triggering floods and mudslides and causing houses and shanties in the capital to collapse. The official death toll was 23 but could rise as remnants of the storm lingered.
Runoff from the rain sent rivers surging and flooded many homes as people scrambled to their rooftops. The slow-moving storm system also toppled trees and debris blocked streets throughout the capital.
At least 23 people were killed and more than a dozen injured, said Edgar Joseph, a spokesman for Haiti's Civil Protection Department. Most of the deaths were in Port-au-Prince and they included two who died over the weekend, he said.
Thirteen people died in Petionville, a hillside city southeast of downtown Port-au-Prince, Joseph said. In one incident, a concrete house slid down a ravine and crashed into several smaller homes.
A 53-year-old man, Jean Wildor Charutis, said his older sister and a niece died in the large house that crashed down the ravine. "There was so much rain it shook the house," he said as he and government rescue workers searched for survivors.
The storm system has saturated much of the Caribbean in recent days, with flooding reported in the neighboring Dominican Republic as well as in Jamaica, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Authorities reported two deaths in the Dominican Republic and one in Jamaica to the weather.
Civil defense authorities in the Dominican Republic said 25 homes were destroyed and more than 8,400 people were evacuated. The dead included a 13-year-old boy who was swept away and drowned while watching a river swell near Santo Domingo.
In Haiti, the week of pounding rain has deepened the misery for tens of thousands of people living in the tent-and-tarp settlements that sprung up after the January 2010 earthquake. Aid groups have warned that the wet weather could worsen a cholera outbreak that has killed more than 5,300 people since October.
Michel Davison, a coordinator for the International Desk of the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, said satellite data indicate that rain drenched Haiti along the border with the Dominican Republic for at least six hours Monday night, dumping between four to six inches.
"That's a fairly intense rainfall amount," Davison said in a phone interview. "That's been happening now for five, seven days. The ground is so saturated at this point that it doesn't take much to produce floods."
Davison said Haiti will see more rain Wednesday, but should get a much-needed reprieve later the week.
Two children died and three others were injured in the Nazon neighborhood in Port-au-Prince after the wall of a home fell on them, according to the Civil Protection Department.
Meanwhile, hospitals saw an influx of patients.
Doctors at a hospital run by the Miami aid group Project Medishare treated at least 10 people for injuries, including a puncture wound, said Gabriele Denis, a hospital administrator. Aid group Doctors Without Borders treated at least 10 people, many of them injured when walls fell on them, said Sylvain Groulx, chief of mission for Doctors Without Borders.
Haiti's newly elected President Michel Martelly took to national television just before midnight to calm the nation as the storm was still passing over the city. "This message is to tell the population that I'm with you," the president said.
Martelly ordered government construction workers to show up to work early Tuesday to help remove debris.
Rains earlier this week prompted the government and international aid groups to evacuate dozens of families who live around the overflowing Lake Azuei.
___
Associated Press writers Pierre-Richard Luxama in Port-au-Prince, Howard Campbell in Jamaica and Ezequiel Lopez in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, contributed to this report.
June 7 2011
So much going on! I really do not where to start!
Yesterday the evangelism teams went out had 58 accept Christ. Pastor Donnie went to a school with about 300 students. We had 30 salvations.
We started the sports camp and over 300 showed up!! They had 40+ salvations - not an exact count. We did not get all the names in the confusion.
At 4:30 we began evening ministry pastors conference, great session!! Bible Study had about 60 and over 100 kids showed up but did not have a study planned for them!
We see the Spirit moving so much there is passion over this team like I have not seem before!
God is good! Glory to His name!
We have had sickness and we have had accidents close calls but not serious! I have seen a sluggish Haitian team pull it together!! My patience has stayed in check (a miracle)!! I am having such a great time, maybe the time at home really helped!!
Miss u - keep praying it really does make a difference!!!!!
We go in Jesus name
That Name that causes demons to tremble
Norma
Yesterday the evangelism teams went out had 58 accept Christ. Pastor Donnie went to a school with about 300 students. We had 30 salvations.
We started the sports camp and over 300 showed up!! They had 40+ salvations - not an exact count. We did not get all the names in the confusion.
At 4:30 we began evening ministry pastors conference, great session!! Bible Study had about 60 and over 100 kids showed up but did not have a study planned for them!
We see the Spirit moving so much there is passion over this team like I have not seem before!
God is good! Glory to His name!
We have had sickness and we have had accidents close calls but not serious! I have seen a sluggish Haitian team pull it together!! My patience has stayed in check (a miracle)!! I am having such a great time, maybe the time at home really helped!!
Miss u - keep praying it really does make a difference!!!!!
We go in Jesus name
That Name that causes demons to tremble
Norma
Graduation Day March 17, 2011
There are no words to express this graduation service! I could not fight back the tears as I saw these women I love so much, some who cannot read or write, so excited. Some of them were even holding the certificates upside down.
The joy in that church graduation service was electric!!!!! It was worth it all and more. I am so exhausted I cannot wait for my shower.....but it was blessed and Holy Spirit filled!
Thank you all for praying us through. What a wonderful adventurous team of people. They have been willing to go with us into deep waters where none have gone. Sadly, the team leaves tomorrow.
Haiti is changed some because they stepped in uncharted waters with us and let God do His thing!
Today the Haitians went out with the Americans and souls were brought into the Kingdom of God. They were able to put into action all the things they had learned this week. What a joy!
We go in Jesus Name.
Norma
The joy in that church graduation service was electric!!!!! It was worth it all and more. I am so exhausted I cannot wait for my shower.....but it was blessed and Holy Spirit filled!
Thank you all for praying us through. What a wonderful adventurous team of people. They have been willing to go with us into deep waters where none have gone. Sadly, the team leaves tomorrow.
Haiti is changed some because they stepped in uncharted waters with us and let God do His thing!
Today the Haitians went out with the Americans and souls were brought into the Kingdom of God. They were able to put into action all the things they had learned this week. What a joy!
We go in Jesus Name.
Norma
The Team from Living Hope
The team from Living Hope is here again. They have started a discipleship conference for the church. First time ever in our area! We are calling out leaders to disciple. They will be certified as leaders by us when the conference is finished.
The team goes and evangelizes in the mornings. Many have accepted Christ!! We have 4 different age groups for leadership/discipleship training. For part of the conference training Thursday, the Haitian students will go out in the field with the Living Hope Team.
The team went to the orphanage and took candy and stickers for the kids on Wednesday afternoon. Then, they set up and prepared for the conference which was starting at 4:00pm.
The conference is really going well the people are at the gate by 3:30 waiting each day. New people are trying to get in everyday but we are not taking any more new ones. We have had 130 different Haitians attend. Thankfully, not all at the same time.
We sent Eddy on a fast run into Carrefour to make more copies of Certificate. We only planned for 60 but could not turn them away. We are really learning how to and how not to do this Conference.
It has been a first for Joyhouse to have a conference like this. We are going to debrief all morning Friday and plan for the next one.
The team members have never done anything like this before either. It has been great to watch them grow into it as the week progressed. It is an awesome group!! They are family to Joyhouse!!!
Some of the team works on construction each day too. Mark Henry was teary as he saw the temporary church and how much it had grown. Last year he and others from this group worked so hard on demolition of the church destroyed by the earthquake. Now we have the temporary church in it's place. We are so grateful for these people!
Everyone is well!! All are having fun with Princess and she with them. We are having a great time! They are all so excited to learn and can't wait for graduation Thursday!
More later.
The team goes and evangelizes in the mornings. Many have accepted Christ!! We have 4 different age groups for leadership/discipleship training. For part of the conference training Thursday, the Haitian students will go out in the field with the Living Hope Team.
The team went to the orphanage and took candy and stickers for the kids on Wednesday afternoon. Then, they set up and prepared for the conference which was starting at 4:00pm.
The conference is really going well the people are at the gate by 3:30 waiting each day. New people are trying to get in everyday but we are not taking any more new ones. We have had 130 different Haitians attend. Thankfully, not all at the same time.
We sent Eddy on a fast run into Carrefour to make more copies of Certificate. We only planned for 60 but could not turn them away. We are really learning how to and how not to do this Conference.
It has been a first for Joyhouse to have a conference like this. We are going to debrief all morning Friday and plan for the next one.
The team members have never done anything like this before either. It has been great to watch them grow into it as the week progressed. It is an awesome group!! They are family to Joyhouse!!!
Some of the team works on construction each day too. Mark Henry was teary as he saw the temporary church and how much it had grown. Last year he and others from this group worked so hard on demolition of the church destroyed by the earthquake. Now we have the temporary church in it's place. We are so grateful for these people!
Everyone is well!! All are having fun with Princess and she with them. We are having a great time! They are all so excited to learn and can't wait for graduation Thursday!
More later.
The Haiti Sunset
P.S. Sorry it has been so long. First, there is real life and second there is age. I have been struggling for some time to remember the user id and password. Life is complicated! Ha!
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