Death toll rises in Haiti after Hurricane Melissa’s devastation

The death toll in Haiti from Hurricane Melissa has risen to more than two dozen, with several people still missing, authorities said on Wednesday.

The southern coastal town of Petit-Goâve was the hardest hit, with officials reporting at least 80 homes destroyed and more than 160 others damaged. Thousands of residents have been displaced, seeking refuge in temporary shelters.

Among the victims is Steven Guadard, who lost all four of his children in the storm. “I had four children at home a one-month-old baby, a seven-year-old, an eight-year-old, and another who was about to turn four,” Guadard said in Haitian Creole. “All four are gone.”

Haitian emergency officials said more than 11,600 people remain in shelters as rescue teams continue to search for the missing and deliver aid to isolated communities cut off by floods and landslides.

Hurricane Melissa has left a trail of death and destruction across the Caribbean after battering Jamaica and Cuba before making landfall in Haiti. Roads, bridges, and power lines were severely damaged, worsening an already fragile humanitarian situation in the country.

Authorities have urged caution as cleanup efforts continue and warned of possible renewed flooding in southern regions.