Quake hits recent flood zone

2004-05-29 20:25

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic - An earthquake on Saturday morning shook the flood-hit border of Dominican Republic and Haiti, where torrents of water and mudslides killed more than 1 100 people this week.

There was no immediate word on damage or injuries, but it was impossible to reach the area by telephone.

A quake measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale erupted at 09:44 (13:44 GMT) and lasted for four seconds, said Jose Luis German, speaking for the National Emergency Commission.

He said the epicentre, 33km below the ground, was near the Dominican town of Jimani on the Haitian side of the border, which was worst-hit by the floods.

Such a quake can cause moderate damage in normal circumstances, but that area, in the south-central corner of Hispaniola island on the border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, suffered torrential floods and mudslides this week that killed at least 1 100 people, according to conservative government tolls that account only for bodies recovered.

French troops were working around Jimani on Saturday, trying to recover bodies from a saltwater lake crawling with crocodiles, while US, Canadian and Chilean troops working alongside aid workers were trying to collect bodies on the Haitian side.

There was no way to reach people there in villages under floodwaters that are cut off from the world except by helicopter, which the US military has been using to ferry emergency aid to thousands of homeless and hungry survivors.

- AP