Haiti’s government says 8 dead, 2 missing after heavy, early seasonal rain hits southwest

8 killed in heavy rain in southwestern Haiti

LES CAYES, Haiti — Haitian officials say eight people are dead and two missing after heavy rain pounded the southwest and caused widespread flooding.

Rain fell around Les Cayes on the country’s southern peninsula. The civil protection department says a prison flooded and more than 400 prisoners were evacuated.

City delegate Josephe Mary Yves Aurbour says the dead from Saturday’s storm include two adults and a child killed when water rushed into their home and swept them into a rain-swollen river.

It’s still several weeks until Haiti’s rainy season typically starts. It also has been raining, but not as hard, in parts of the capital, where hundreds of thousands of people are living outside after their homes were destroyed in the earthquake.