Thousands of homes have been flooded and some 2,500 families displaced in Haiti as torrential rain caused rivers to burst their banks.

Rescue teams have begun evacuating people in high-risk zones, the civil protection authority said on Monday.

Nearly 36 hours of rain caused flooding, primarily in the north of the Caribbean country, with water filling the historic centre of the city of Cap-Haitien and heavy winds downing trees, the agency said.

"Residents of areas that are prone to flooding and exposed to wind (should) take the necessary precautions to protect themselves," the agency wrote in a statement. 

"Above all, do not cross flooded rivers under any circumstances."

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Widespread damage

The flooding has already affected the town Anse a Veau, which was near the epicentre of an earthquake last week that killed two people but caused limited overall damage, it said.

Overall, the storm destroyed at least three houses and flooded more than 2,570 homes.

The storm also flooded a power plant and caused a bridge to collapse, leaving one community isolated. In one town, people waded through waist deep water as they tried to rescue a motorcycle and other belongings.

Some families grabbed each other by the hand as they battled flowing floodwaters while balancing large bags of clothes and other items on their heads.

Haiti is prone to natural disasters, typically due to the poor state of the housing and flood-prone areas are often home to poor and densely populated communities.

Some 300,000 people were killed in a massive 2010 earthquake and another 2,000 died last year in a quake on the country's southern peninsula.

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