PORT-AU-PRINCE (AFP) - Haitian authorities readied mass graves for flood victims, as the 711 recovered bodies rapidly putrefied in the heat amid fears that about 1,000 more people may have died.
"Because of the situation of the bodies, we have decided to bury the dead in mass graves," Interior Minister Herard Abraham said Wednesday.
In the northern city of Gonaives, where 600 deaths were reported, morgues ran out of space and had no electricity.
Authorities feared the number of deaths would rise dramatically. Prime Minister Gerard Latortue said that in Gonaives alone, 1,000 people were missing feared dead.
Rescue crews battled to areas in the north of the country that have been cut off by mud or high water.
Officials pointed out that a number of bodies had washed out to sea, some showing up on the island of La Tortue.
In addition, about 400 people were injured, many by falling roofs or homes that collapsed because of the floods.
In Gonaives, 450 houses were destroyed, according to the Haitian Civil Protection Office.
It said that in all, 250,000 people had to flee their homes, and aid agencies say many people were left with nothing.
Relief teams battled Wednesday to get emergency supplies to the stricken areas, trucking in anything from bread and water to tents and even body bags.
Also on the list of supplies was serum for tetanus and other immunisations.
"Given the contamination of water sources and the flooding of latrines, there are concerns about possible outbreaks of water-related diseases," the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in a statement.
While the first convoys of food, water and medicine were on their way, relief officials flew to the affected area to assess the most urgent needs.
The World Food Program arranged for thousands of loaves of bread to be baked and distributed to the homeless.
"For many people, the floods took everything away, so there's no point sending rice or beans, since they cannot cook them," said Guy Gauvreau of the WFP.
The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has sent a team to look for children orphaned by the killer floods. "We have reports of abandoned children, either because their parents were killed or because they got lost," said Francoise Gruloos, who heads the UNICEF mission in Haiti.
The teams also will distribute balloons and games for children, "so there can at least be a semblance of joy," said Gruloos.
Amid fears of looting, security also remained a concern as many police officials deserted their posts and hundreds of prisoners escaped in Gonaives during the floods.
Despite the deployment of nearly 3,000 UN peacekeepers, crime has risen in Haiti since former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide left the country in February.
Aid officials say it will take months and vast amounts of aid to help the flood disaster areas.
Ranked among the world's poorest nations, Haiti had already been further impoverished by flooding and civil strife earlier this year.
"We have launched an appeal for international aid," said Latortue. "You know Haiti cannot overcome such a disaster on its own."
In the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, authorities said the storm killed 27 people. There were also nine dead in the Bahamas and two in Puerto Rico.
Jeanne was just the latest in a string of powerful, deadly storms to slam the Americas this year.
Hurricane Ivan, responsible for more than 130 deaths in the United States and the Caribbean, finally petered out over the weekend, but countries in the region were still reeling from the destruction left in its wake.