Families in Haiti’s Petit-Goâve mourn Hurricane Mélissa victims in mass funeral

PETIT-GOAVE, Haiti— In one of the most painful moments in the town’s recent history, Petit-Goâve laid to rest 18 residents — including 10 children — who were swept away by the rising La Digue River during Hurricane Mélissa’s deadly passage. 

Hundreds gathered in the town square about 42 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince on Saturday, Nov. 15, for a collective funeral mourning and honoring lives lost in the brutal October storm. They cried, sang and demanded urgent government action as Haiti faces yet another deadly reminder of its vulnerability to natural disasters.

From early morning, rows of 18 coffins lined the Place d’Armes, drawing a silent crowd. Families clung to each other as hymns rose above the sound of sobbing. Among the mourners was a woman who identified herself only as Patricia, citing privacy concerns. She lost six relatives.

 “I lost everything I had,” she whispered in Creole, before collapsing in tears.

Local authorities said the victims were carried away when the La Digue River burst its banks after torrential rains. According to Nozalito Soliman, an Administrative  Council member (CASEC) for the 12th communal section of Petit-Goâve, years of neglected riverbank maintenance and the absence of dredging work magnified the destruction.

“We have been sounding the alarm,” Soliman said. “Without intervention, the river was a catastrophe waiting to happen.”

Hurricane Melissa severely impacted the West Department’s commune as it moved over Haiti, resulting in at least 25 deaths in the area when the river suddenly flooded. In a preliminary report after the storm, civil protection authorities said that a strong current in the La Digue River also left 10 people missing, including five members of the same family.

Community solidarity amid repeated grief

Hurricane Mélissa struck as Haiti remains overwhelmed by overlapping crises — gang violence, political instability, mass displacement, food insecurity and a weakened state. The country is among the most climate-vulnerable in the world, where deforestation, unregulated construction and poor watershed management routinely turn heavy rains into deadly floods.

For many in Petit-Goâve, Mélissa’s destruction feels like a recurring nightmare: the devastating August 2021 earthquake, Hurricane Matthew in 2016, recent deadly floods and countless other local disasters that came before.

Reverend Father Boniface Sénat, who officiated the ceremony, urged residents and authorities to confront the environmental roots of these tragedies.

“It is time to plant trees instead of cutting them down,” he said. “If we do not protect the land, it cannot protect us.”

Mayor Bertrand Subrème echoed the warning, calling for a coordinated response to deforestation, erosion and unregulated riverbed settlement.

Despite profound sorrow, the ceremony showcased the community’s strength. Neighbors supported grieving families, volunteers distributed water and candles, and residents who lost no one still came to stand beside those who lost everything.

Soliman said he has formally asked the municipality to identify state-owned land to relocate families living in high-risk zones.

“People cannot return to the same danger,” he said. “The government must act now.”

Government absence fuels frustration

Hundreds attended the funeral — families, local officials, faith leaders and community groups — but one absence stood out: no representative of Haiti’s central government was present.

“It’s as if we do not exist,” said one resident. “Even in our grief, we are alone.”

As the coffins were carried away one by one, Petit-Goâve’s mourning turned into a familiar plea. Residents say they cannot endure another preventable disaster, especially as climate change intensifies storms like Mélissa and Haiti’s weakened state struggles to respond. 

For families still searching for missing loved ones or rebuilding homes along the La Digue River, the hope is that tragedy will finally bring action — before the next storm arrives. But the promised help from the central government and nongovernmental organizations remains elusive.

Below are images from the mass funeral honoring the victims.

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