Unrest across Haiti is growing after Tropical Storm Noel killed at least 56 people here and left behind thousands of homeless residents, many of them complaining about hunger and government inaction, AP reported. Heavy rains on Saturday still pounded parts of the waterlogged island on Hispaniola, shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti, leaving U.N. and Haitian officials temporarily stranded as they toured Haiti's flooded southwest area of Les Cayes. Officials who met with local firefighters were approached by a group of residents who demanded compensation for the cows, goats and even TV sets they had lost in the flood. «It rained for two days without stopping,» said 44-year-old farmer Marcel Delswain. «We lost our land. We lost our food. We feel abandoned.» Remnants of Noel, which is lashing the northeastern United States with high winds and rough surf Saturday, caused continued stormy weather in Haiti that grounding U.N. helicopters Friday that were scheduled to assess the damage in hard-to-reach areas. Rains let up in the neighboring Dominican Republic, however, allowing flights carrying urgently needed relief supplies. The country has confirmed 84 deaths from Noel and an estimated 67,000 people were left homeless. The Haitian government, still struggling to rebuild after years of turmoil, has been almost entirely dependent on overtaxed international aid groups and a U.N. peacekeeping force to cope with the disaster. Desperation set in at schoolhouse shelters in the volatile Port-au-Prince slum of Cite Soleil, where thousands of residents sought refuge. People at one school complained on Saturday that U.N. guards abandoned the site overnight, allowing for a group of machete-wielding men to enter and threaten to rape young women.
