MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Floods Kill More Than 500 in Haiti.

The death toll from the disastrous passage of Tropical Storm Jeanne over Haiti topped 500 on Monday, with the northern city of Gonaives cut off.

Elie Cantave, representative of the central government in the northern province of Artibonite, said most of those confirmed dead so far were children.

Hundreds more were reported injured or missing following widespread flooding.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Gerard Latortue declared Gonaives a disaster zone, after he and a convoy from the U.N. Mission for the Stabilization of Haiti (MINUSTAH) were unable to reach many of the towns in that area.

Most of the victims were killed when their dwellings collapsed or they drowned in avalanches of water that caused major flooding and mudslides.

Jeanne's torrential rains claimed victims from Haiti's southern peninsula to the north-coast town of Port-de-Paix, which had the second-highest death toll ? 40, he said. Most other deaths were scattered across the northwest.

"The situation is catastrophic," in Gonaives, Deslorges said, adding that survivors "need everything from potable water to food, clothing, medication and disinfectants."

Earlier Monday, officials said hundreds of families are living on the rooftops of their homes - just barely sticking out of the water, in towns that have become virtual rivers.

Power and telephone service are out throughout much of the country, hampering rescue workers' efforts.

Haiti is especially vulnerable to tropical storms and hurricanes because of extensive deforestation.

In May, a powerful storm killed some 3,000 people along the border with the Dominican Republic.