Haiti's deforestation led to deadly floods says PM
Saturday, May 29, 2004
GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AFP): Haitian Prime
Minister Gerard Latortue on Friday attributed Haiti's deadly flash floods to
the Caribbean country's massive deforestation.
"The deep cause of this situation is the deforestation of Haiti," Latortue
said at the summit of European and Latin American leaders in Guadalajara,
Mexico. "We have lost more than 80 percent of
forest because people like to use wood charcoal as a source of energy," said
Latortue, adding that the death toll in Haiti could rise to between 1,000 and
1,200 people. Haitian officials had put the
death toll at 579 with 74 missing. In the Dominican Republic, the toll was 372
dead and at least 352 missing. The two countries share the island of
Hispaniola. A UN spokeswoman said there were
1,500 dead or missing in Haiti alone. "The
number of deaths is difficult to determine because of the conditions under
which the floods took place, with the electricity out at night," Latortue
said. "We can't go on like this," he said of
the deforestation issue. "When I return I have plans to speak with the
government to invite students in a re-forestation project."
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