300,000 Haitian children hit by hurricanes

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- UNICEF officials say up to 300,000 children may be suffering food and health impacts after Haiti's back-to-back-to-back hurricanes.

Floods caused by Hurricanes Fay, Gustav and Hanna are affecting an estimated 650,000 people total, UNICEF said in a Saturday statement.

The statement noted relief supplies have been hurried to Gonaives, the most severely affected city, by helicopter and boat. But washed-out roads and bridges throughout most of Haiti are making the situation difficult in a country already plagued by food shortages and political turmoil.

"The initial push to provide aid to Gonaives is a start, but there is a great deal more to be done to help children and families that have been affected by the storms throughout the entire country," says Nils Kastberg, UNICEF regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean.

UNICEF has raised more than $1 million and has issued an appeal for more money to provide additional food and health supplies.