On the night of October 28 to 29, 2025, several peripheral bands detached from Hurricane Melissa swept through Haiti’s southern region. In Petit-Goâve, the overflowing La Digue River carried away houses, cars, and many lives. One resident of Faustin Soulouque City, Edouard Charles, tearfully recounted the terrible morning when the sudden flooding of part of the town plunged his family into horror. The disaster claimed the life of his four-year-old daughter.

According to his testimony, it was around 4 a.m. when the river’s waters suddenly overwhelmed his family inside the makeshift shelter that had served as their home for seven years. At first, the father thought it was an earthquake because of the noise, and only realized what was happening when, seconds later, he found himself completely submerged in muddy waters. He recalled hearing his wife’s voice calling out to him to “save” their child, whom he managed to grab and hold in his arms.