Hurricane Jeanne, September 17, 2004 In Gonaive

Hurricane Jeanne In Gonaive Where Over 3,000 People Died As A Result Of Flooding And Mudslides Caused By The Storm.

Hurricane Jeanne was the tenth named storm, the seventh hurricane, and the fifth major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. It was also the third hurricane and fourth named storm of the season to landfall in Florida. Jeanne affected the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the north-eastern Bahamas, and the U.S. state of Florida. The worst damage occurred in Haiti, where over 3,000 people died as a result of flooding and mudslides caused by the storm.

By September 17, heavy rains totaling about 13 inches (330 mm) in the northern mountains of Haiti caused severe flooding and mudslides in the Artibonite region of the country, causing particular damage in the coastal city of Gonaïves, where it affected about 80,000 of the city's 100,000 residents. As of October 6, 2004 the official report counted 3,006 people dead, with 2,826 of those in Gonaïves alone. Another 2,601 people were injured.

Most found safety on rooftops. Some climbed to safety in treetops. But at least 1,500 other men, women and children, including all five of one family's children, were swept away in a muddy torrent of fast-rising floodwater.

Hurricane Jeanne has left 300,000 already-impoverished people without food, water and electricity. Mudslides and standing floodwaters have impeded rescue efforts, leaving some people without food for a week. Thirst has driven survivors to drink from ditches containing rotting bodies and raw sewage.

Some survivors were living on rooftops of destroyed homes. Some of the homeless found refuge on small "islands" of mud in the floodwaters.

Many of the dead remained unburied for days and relief workers had to bury bodies in mass graves in an attempt to avoid the spread of disease. Some bodies washed out to sea and may never be recovered. The flooding occurred well after the center of the storm had left Haiti, and outside the areas covered by storm warnings. Widespread looting was reported in the hardest hit areas and UN peacekeepers sometimes had to fight off armed crowds at relief distribution points.

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