In 2008, series of four hurricanes and tropical storms struck Haiti during a two-month period. Throughout August and September of 2008, Haiti was repeatedly hit by a number of tropical storms and hurricanes. Each time one hit, it compounded the damage left by the previous one.
It started with Tropical Storm Fey hitting the entire country, causing widespread damage. Just ten days later, Hurricane Gustav hit the south peninsula, causing loss of life and serious property damage. A few days later, on September 1st, Hurricane Hanna impacted the north eastern parts of Haiti, causing massive flooding. Finally, six days later, Hurricane Ike slammed into the western coastline of Haiti, causing heavy rains and flooding. In the end, approximately 800 people were killed, with an estimated $8 billion in property damage, not to mention the extensive damage to crops throughout the country.
The rugged hillsides, stripped bare of 98% of their forest cover thanks to deforestation, let flood waters rampage into large areas of the country. Particularly hard-hit was Gonaives, the fourth largest city. According to reliefweb.org, the rains from 2008's four storms killed 793, left 310 missing, injured 593, destroyed 22,702 homes, and damaged another 84,625. About 800,000 people were affected--8% of Haiti's total population. The flood wiped out 70% of Haiti's crops, resulting in dozens of deaths of children due to malnutrition in the months following the storms. Damage was estimated at over $1 billion, the costliest natural disaster in Haitian history. The damage amounted to over 5% of the country's $17 billion GDP, a staggering blow for a nation so poor.
Taken from these original sources
DesRoches et al. (2011)