Attempts to Aid Desperate Haitians Hindered by Floodwaters

GONAIVES, Haiti, Sept. 4 -- Floodwaters frustrated efforts by Argentine peacekeepers to distribute aid Thursday at orphanages marooned by Tropical Storm Hanna, confining them to their base as desperate people begged for food and water outside.

The official death toll doubled to 137 as Hanna moved north with near-hurricane winds on a path toward the southeastern U.S. coast, with most of the deaths coming in the flooded port city of Gonaives, which had been almost entirely cut off by floodwaters from Hanna.

Another 22 deaths were confirmed in areas surrounding the coastal city. The rest of the deaths were scattered across the country.

Forecasters warned that Hurricane Ike could hit the Western Hemisphere's poorest country next week.

A Haitian politician struggling to gauge the extent of the damage in Gonaives, Haiti's fourth-largest city, said the situation is critical.

"If they don't have food, it can be dangerous," said Youri Latortue, who flew by helicopter from the capital, Port-au-Prince, to the U.N. compound. "They can't wait."

Half the homes in Gonaives, a low-lying city of 160,000, remain flooded, said Lt. Sergio Hoj, spokesman for the Argentine battalion of peacekeepers.

About 250,000 people are affected in the Gonaives region, including 70,000 in 150 shelters across the city, according to an international official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

Hanna swirled over Haiti for four days, dumping vast amounts of rain, blowing down fruit trees and ruining stores of food as it swamped tin-roofed houses.

Many of the thousands of people who fled to higher ground have gone without food for days, and safe drinking water was in short supply as the fetid carcasses of drowned farm animals bobbed in floodwaters.

People wading in water up to their knees shouted at peacekeepers to give them drinking water, and women on balconies waved empty pots and spoons.

The Argentine soldiers have plucked residents from rooftops that were the only visible parts of their houses but had little capacity to deliver food and water.

The Gonaives area accounted for most of the 2,000 victims of Tropical Storm Jeanne in 2004. Some residents said the current flooding was at least as bad.

Haiti's government has few resources to help. Rescue convoys have been blocked by huge lakes over every road into town.

The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince declared a disaster situation, freeing $100,000 in emergency aid, spokeswoman Mari Tolliver said. She said that hygiene kits, plastic sheeting and water jugs for up to 5,000 families were expected to arrive Thursday but that the biggest problem is reaching victims.

Food for the Poor, a Florida-based nonprofit, managed to get a shipment of food and water to Gonaives on Thursday.