Downpours ruin spring harvest in beleaguered southwest Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Officials say flooding in southwest Haiti has wiped out much of the beleaguered region’s spring harvest.

Days of rain triggered flooding across southwest Haiti, drowning crops and causing at least four deaths in the area that was overwhelmed by Hurricane Matthew last year.

The head of Haiti’s U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says the destructive downpours that finally tapered off on Monday “certainly came at a very bad time.”

Farmers were given seeds after Matthew hit in October so they could start reaping corn and beans now. But the recent rains have ruined the harvest.