Government workers and U.N. peacekeepers were burying the dead in mass graves to prevent the spread of disease.Truckloads of bodies in plastic bags were delivered for burial at the Bois Marchand cemetery near Gonaives and police were called in to calm neighbors who angrily protested the mass burials, Cantave said.
[...]
Devastating floods and mudslides in May, in which about 2,000 people died, further aggravated the humanitarian disaster facing the county. Haiti is chronically vulnerable to flooding because of widespread deforestation caused by Haitians digging up roots to make charcoal for cooking.
The Associated Press reports:
[...T]he number of people reported missing since Tropical Storm Jeanne lashed the islands with torrential rains for 30 hours over the weekend was up to 1,250. Some bodies washed out to sea at Gonaives, dozens remained in still-high waters or floating in flooded houses in the city, he said, indicating that the toll could reach as high as 2,000.For those of you are are unfamiliar with Haiti's situation--Haiti is the the most impoverished nation in the Western hemisphere. Nearly 2,000 people died just a few months ago in May due to devastating mudslides and floods. Posted by Kyer at September 22, 2004 10:44 PM