Aid to reach stranded Haitians

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- U.N. officials say they are racing emergency supplies to Haitians battered by three storms in recent weeks with two more storms fast approaching.

Hurricane Gustav left at least 76 people dead and thousands displaced in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, while storms Fay and Hanna contributed to crop devastation, the United Nations said Friday.

The rain subsided enough for a boat to sail out of Port au Prince Friday carrying food and emergency supplies to the previously inaccessible northern city of Gonaives, said officials with the U.N. World Food Program.

"All roads able to access Gonaives are cut, either by bridges that have collapsed, by trees that have fallen down, or by waters that have washed away parts of the streets," said WFP representative Myrta Kaulard.

U.N. officials were able to deliver some aid to Gonaives by using speed boats but a large ship loaded with WFP and UNICEF supplies had been holding in Port au Prince because of the weather.