New York  - The four hurricanes and tropical storms that hit Haiti back-to-back last month have caused extensive damage, reversing development by "several years," Haiti's President Rene Preval said Friday.

Preval said the natural disasters, which have always battered the impoverished Caribbean nation, came four months after Haiti witnessed its first food riot because of the high food and fuel prices. Several people were killed in the riot, including a UN policeman from Nigeria.

While complaining about the destruction and human casualties inflicted by the disasters, Preval did not provide details about the kind of assistance he would like to receive from the international community.

The UN said Josette Sheeran, director general of World Food Programme, was in Haiti on Friday to assess the needs of the government there. (dpa)