Thousands of people have been forced from their homes after flooding in parts of Haiti and Dominican Republic following a period of heavy rainfall.
Haiti
A cold front brought heavy rain and strong winds to the region from 30 January 2022. Civil Protection in Haiti said rain fell for 36 hours and several rivers have broken their banks including the Port-Margot, Les Trois Rivières and the Grande Rivière du Nord.
Flooding has affected 20 municipalities in the Nord, Nord-Est and Nippes departments. As many as 2,578 houses have been flooded and 3 destroyed. Civil Protection added that nearly 2,500 families were now in need of temporary shelter. Civil Protection also reported damage to a a power plant and a bridge, leaving some areas isolated.
Some of the affected areas are still recovering from the deadly earthquake that hit in August 2021. Flooding rain from Tropical Storm Grace complicated rescue and recovery efforts in the wake of the earthquake in which over 1,900 people died.
Dominican Republic
Meanwhile in neighbouring Dominican Republic, Civil Defence said the heavy rains affected Puerto Plata, Santiago, La Vega, Valverde and Montecristi, causing flooding in some sectors of these provinces.
As many as 3,444 homes were flooded and 1,720 people displaced. Firefighters were called on to rescue or evacuate dozens of people from severe flooding in the municipality of Villa Vásquez, province of Montecristi.
In a 24 hour period to 30 January, the town of Montecristi recorded 155.8 mm of rain and Villa Isabela in Puerto Plata Province recorded 127.0 mm.
Strong winds also caused damages and one person died after a tree fell in the municipality of Sabana Iglesia in the province of Santiago.
