Hurricane Melissa caused flooding in southern Haiti, leaving 25 people injured, the mayor said this Wednesday (29).
Residents remain trapped in several houses that collapsed in the port of Petit-Goâve, Mayor Jean Bertrand Subrème said, according to the independent news agency Associated Press.
“I am devastated by the situation,” Subrème said, adding that he has requested help from the government of Haiti, which is facing a wave of gang violence.
Only one Civil Protection Agency employee was in the area, the Associated Press reported, as residents struggled to empty their homes due to high water in recent days.
The region has been suffering from strong storms for more than a week, with an estimated accumulation of more than 300 millimeters of rain.
To date, Melissa is responsible for at least seven deaths: three in Jamaica during storm preparations, three in Haiti and one in the Dominican Republic.
Melissa’s maximum winds reached 298 km/h on Tuesday (28), tying in wind speed with four other hurricanes as the second strongest storm since 1851.
Only Hurricane Allen, in 1980, had stronger winds, with 306 km/h.
