Thousands of homes in Haiti have been flooded following heavy rains over the weekend, leaving at least 42 people dead and 85 injured, according to a statement released by the country’s Civil Protection Agency on Monday.
The intense rainfall caused several rivers throughout Haiti to overflow, which in turn sparked flash floods, flooding, rockslides and landslides, according to a United Nations report.
Over 13,300 people have been displaced, and at least 11 others have been declared missing throughout five of Haiti’s 10 departments: West, Nippes, South-East, North-West, and the Center.
“My government, in concert with national and international institutions, is taking urgent measures in order to meet the demands of the hour,” Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry tweeted.
The death toll climbed steadily on Monday as persistent heavy rains continued to pelt down.
Emergency response teams and aid organizations have been mobilized in order to tend to those impacted by the floods.
“We’ll start providing hot meals to displaced people in the coming hours & are mobilizing ready-to-eat rations & dry food,” the World Food Programme said in a tweet.
The floods are the latest calamity to strike a country with already weak infrastructure, which has been repeatedly wracked with criminal violence, political turmoil and natural disasters in recent years.
The Caribbean nation depends heavily on humanitarian assistance.
The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned on Monday that flooding could resume with more rain in coming days.
“In the event of another heavy rainfall, the waterlogged soils will be unable to prevent further flooding, rockslides and landslides, and the provisional death toll could rise even higher,” it said.
The danger is expected to continue through hurricane season, which began on June 1.
