UN aid ship arrives in flooded Haitian city, Hurricane Ike intensifying

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
UN peacekeeping troops began handing out food and water to famished Haitians on Friday after the first shipload of aid sailed into a crumbling port on the outskirts of this flooded city, where tens of thousands were stranded in the wake of Tropical Storm Hanna. Haitian officials feared current death toll of 163 would rise even higher as flood waters receded. Meanwhile, the UN began distributing the high-energy biscuits and water to emergency shelters where 40,000 people were marooned and increasingly desperate. But the respite was expected to be brief. Hurricane Ike, a dangerous Category 3 storm, was forecast to pass just north of Haiti on Sunday. Even if Haiti avoids a direct hit, Ike is almost certain to bring rain to the fertile Artibonite Valley, whose rivers funnel into Gonaives, Haiti's fourth-largest city, and the surrounding flood plain. Earlier on Friday, the European Union promised US$2.85 million to provide storm victims with food, water, shelter, basic medical care and household equipment.