Hurricane death toll rises to 43 in Haiti as aid pours in across the northern Caribbean

PORT-AU-PRINCE Haiti AP Haiti s administration mentioned Tuesday that the death toll from Hurricane Melissa rose to with others still missing Crews were still trying to reach people in the country s southwest region where landslides and floodwaters devastated more than communities At least deaths occurred in the southwestern coastal town of Petit-Go ve one of the hardest hit communities The Category storm one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record flooded nearly homes and destroyed nearly others after its outer bands battered Haiti last week Numerous roads remain inaccessible The governing body warned there s a drinking water shortage in several communities and that it will soon distribute seeds and tools to farmers facing major agricultural losses More than people remain in shelters Meanwhile in nearby Jamaica crews were trying to reach more than two dozen communities that remained cut off since Melissa made landfall on Oct The storm killed at least people in Jamaica with administrators warning that number would rise Prime Minister Andrew Holness revealed Tuesday that preliminary conservative estimates suggest the hurricane caused at least billion in damage It is a major hit to our economic activity he stated We have never had a tragedy of this magnitude The U S State Department announced Tuesday it has committed million in catastrophe relief funding for the Caribbean islands hit by Hurricane Melissa It noted million has been earmarked for Jamaica million for Haiti million for Cuba and for the Bahamas so far and that more assistance would be publicized once assessments are completed Mike Bassett national director of domestic humanitarian and urgency affairs of World Vision International declared a likely humanitarian problem could unfold if aid is not delivered hastily I have been doing this for over years and I have never seen anything like this Bassett declared Tuesday while in Jamaica He disclosed that while visiting hurricane-ravaged communities like Chester Castle and Cambridge people were seen bathing in a river and gathering its water for drinking because of a lack of electricity and water supply in the hurricane s aftermath World Vision is among a growing list of international aid agencies and supporters that are working independently and with Jamaican bureaucrats to administer aid The relief flights are coming in fast and furious and there is no shortage of supplies disclosed Transit and Potential Minister Daryl Vaz who is the co-chair of the special committee established to streamline the establishment s relief and recovery efforts Pearnel Charles Jr who leads Jamaica s Social Measure Ministry noted the relief effort is being ramped up We are coordinating with every available deposit commented Charles who rejected complaints that not enough was being done to get aid to storm survivors fast enough The State Department has sent accident assistance response teams and urban search and rescue units from Virginia and California to affected countries focusing primarily on Jamaica where the storm damage seems to have been the bulk severe In Jamaica the department commented it responded to about calls for assistance from American citizens living in or traveling to the island more than half of which came from the resort area of Montego Bay It estimated that Americans have left Jamaica the majority without U S cabinet help The money for Cuba is being funneled through the Catholic Church and not through Cuban leadership agencies it reported