Floods displace at least 6,000 after heavy rain in northern Haiti, Dominican Republic

CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti _ At least 6,000 people have been displaced by flooding during several days of heavy rain in northern Haiti and in the neighbouring Dominican Republic.

People are walking through knee-high water to retrieve their property from their homes in neighbourhoods in and around the city of Cap-Haitien in northern Haiti. The country’s Civil Protection Department says at least 4,000 people there are in temporary shelters set up in local schools.

Haitian President Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe both toured the area Thursday as officials distributed food and other supplies to flood victims as waters began receding with drier weather.

In the Dominican Republic, authorities say more than 2,000 people were displaced by floods and mudslides.

The storm is blamed for 12 deaths in the two countries and Puerto Rico.