Heavy rains in northwestern Haiti kill 12 people and damage hundreds of homes

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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Heavy rains over the past few days in northwestern Haiti have killed at least 12 people, flooded farmland and damaged hundreds of homes, authorities said Tuesday.

The rains flooded a local hospital and more than 900 homes. They also destroyed a bridge, dozens of roads and crops in a country where more than half of its nearly 12 million inhabitants face high levels of acute food insecurity.

The rains began on Saturday and continued through Monday, according to a statement from Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency. The hardest hit towns include Port-de-Paix, Saint Louis du Nord and Anse-a-Foleur.

Local authorities said they are unable to access communities that urgently need food and other basic goods because roads are flooded. The bad weather forced officials in some towns to shutter schools and businesses.