Hanna devastates large Haitian city

GONAIVES, Haiti – Floodwaters frustrated efforts by Argentine peacekeepers to distribute food at orphanages marooned by Tropical Storm Hanna on Thursday. They hunkered down in their base as desperate people begged for food and water outside the gates.

A Haitian politician struggling to gauge the extent of the damage in Haiti’s fourth-largest city helicoptered into the U.N. compound and said the situation is critical.
Half the homes in the low-lying city of 160,000 remain flooded in Hanna’s wake, estimated Lt. Sergio Hoj, spokesman for the Argentine battalion.