Hti -DR: US and Canadian Troops head for flood ravaged Hispañola

FOND VERRETTES, Haiti (AP) - U.S. and Canadian troops on Thursday rushed to a town left completely submerged by flooding, and health officials feared 1,000 people could be dead in that town alone, a figure that would nearly double the toll from storms that hit Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

About 300 bodies have been counted so far in the isolated border town of Mapou, said Dr. Yvon Lavissiere, the health director for the region.

That brought the confirmed death toll from Haiti and the Dominican Republic to nearly 870.

"In Mapou, the situation is serious because the entire town is submerged in water," said U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Dave Lapan, a spokesman for the U.S.-led multinational task force in Haiti. "We're also fighting time because weather is turning bad again."


U.S. and Canadian troops, sent to Haiti after rebels ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on Feb. 29, were ferrying water and supplies to Mapou, 30 miles southeast of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.

As many as 1,000 people were feared dead in Mapou, said Margarette Martin, the government's representative for the southeast region in nearby Jacmel.

In the Haitian border town of Fond Verrettes, meanwhile, more troops handed out food Thursday to hundreds of survivors who lined up seeking help. Troops were also ferrying plastic tarpaulins to families seeking shelter.

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We had a little taste of that rain in the V.I. last weekend.
God bless those poor people.

Here's how you can help.

UPDATE: Help flood victims in the Dominican Republic through Worldvision