Hundreds of bodies have been found in receding flood waters of the northern town of Gonaives. Estimates are that more than a quarter million people have been left homeless nationwide after a week of devastation, Sky News reported Saturday.

"The weather is calm now and we are discovering more bodies," Gonaives police

commissioner Ernst Dorfeuille said. "We have found 495 bodies so far and there are 13 people missing. The smell of the dead is very unpleasant in Gonaives. The death toll could be even higher."

United Nations officials are seeking emergency funds to help up to 600,000 Haitians, with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies launching similar appeals. The UN's World Food Program has already sent a freighter with food to Gonaives.