The first heavy rains in Haiti since last month's earthquake have highlighted the urgent need to provide shelter to hundreds of thousands of displaced people still living on the streets.

As rainfall hits Haiti, demonstrations  have been organised in the capital Port-au-Prince by angry residents who say they have nowhere to sleep because their tents are soaked from the rain.

The rain, which began early on Thursday, heightened fears that the coming of the rainy season in April would trigger the spread of water-borne diseases.

Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds, reporting from the capital Port-au-Prince, said people could be seen running from their makeshift shelters when the rains came, seeking sturdier protection.

The rains make it physically miserable for people living under makeshift tents, drenching them and knocking down their flimsy tents, our correspondent said.

They also raise fears of disease and flooding but washing human waste and rubbish scattered around the city into water catchment areas, potentially contaminating water supplies and clogging waterways, he added.

Protests

Hundreds of people marched on Thursday to the Port-au-Prince compound where the Haitian government has worked out of since its offices were devastated by the January 12 quake, before being blocked by riot police and United Nations forces.

The UN says that out of the estimated one million displaced people on the streets of Haiti's capital, nearly 750,000 people have not received basic shelter like tents and plastic tarps, but there are fears that even the 250,000 who have received temporary or medium-term shelter remain vulnerable to the rainy season which starts around April.

Aid agencies say the top priority is to bring hazard resistant shelter which can withstand heavy rains and even hurricanes.

Americans may be freed

Meanwhile, the Haitian judge investigating the case of 10 Americans charged last week with child kidnapping and criminal association, said they should be released from jail while the probe continues.

Judge Bernard Saint-Vil on Thursday privately questioned the last of a group of parents who said they willingly gave their children to the five men and five women mostly from a Baptist church in the US state of Idaho, believing they would educate and care for them.

"After listening to the families, I see the possibility that they can all be released," Saint-Vil told the Associated Press. "I am recommending that all 10 Americans be released."

The judge has the final word on whether to free the Americans, although he has given the prosecutor-general the opportunity to raise objections.

It was unclear when the American might be released and the judge said it was too early to say whether they would be able to leave the country.