PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, July 15 (UPI) -- The Inter-American Development Bank announced Friday it was giving Haiti a $5 million loan for a flood early warning system.

Haiti is often hard hit by hurricanes every year causing numerous deaths. Earlier this week Hurricane Dennis, which tore through the Caribbean before striking the U.S. mainland, killed at least 40 people.

Haitian officials said that an estimated 15,000 people were left homeless by the hurricane.

"Large-scale disasters are one part of the problem," said IDB project team leader Caroline Clarke. "The flood early warning program will empower local communities and national authorities to take action. Saving lives will be the first measure of success."

In September 2004, some 2,000 people died after Haiti was ravaged by heavy rains and flooding. And in May of the same year, more than 3,000 people died in flooding in the south, near Haiti's shared border with the Dominican Republic.

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See the Inter-American Development Bank Press Release here.