Heavy rains pound Haiti, flooding more than 2,570 homes

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Heavy rains that pounded Haiti for more than a day caused widespread flooding that forced nearly 2,500 families to seek temporary shelter, officials said Monday.

The cold front that arrived Sunday hit Haiti’s northern and southern regions the hardest, bringing fierce winds that uprooted trees in some communities, the country’s Civil Protection Agency said.

Overall, the storm destroyed at least three houses and flooded more than 2,570 homes, many of them in a region still trying to recover from a deadly 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit in August, officials said.

The storm also flooded a power plant and caused a bridge to collapse, leaving one community isolated. In one town, people waded through waist deep water as they tried to rescue a motorcycle and other belongings. Some families grabbed each other by the hand as they battled flowing floodwaters while balancing large bags of clothes and other items on their heads.