Heavy rain soaked earthquake survivors in the sprawling tent camps of the Haitian capital on Thursday, bringing a warning of new misery for the 1 million people living outdoors. Dawn in Port-au-Prince revealed the wet sheets some people are using for shelter sagging under the weight of the rain and residents standing in puddles on the pavement of the capital's main city square after an overnight storm. While rain could wash away some of the dust from the thousands of collapsed buildings in the city, it also could increase swarms of mosquitoes. Nearly one month after the massive earthquake shattered the capital of the impoverished Caribbean country of 9 million people, Haiti is racing against time to move survivors from the temporary shelters they have made from plastic sheets, bedsheets, and panels of zinc into more substantial shelters. The tropical rainy season could begin within weeks, and the Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1, with the drainage canals of the capital choked with earthquake rubble and trash. For years, Haiti has been stripped of trees, making it prone to deadly flash floods and mudslides.
