PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. -- Haitian Prime Minister Michele Duvivier Pierre-Louis visited South Florida on Thursday with the hope of drumming up support for her country.

The prime minister said her goal is to show the business community in South Florida that there are many investment opportunities in Haiti.

"We need investment in the country because the country will not develop through humanitarian aid," Pierre-Louis said.

In an interview with Local 10's Calvin Hughes, Pierre-Louis, Haiti's No. 2 in charge, said the country is still recovering from four back-to-back storms during the 2008 hurricane season that killed hundreds of people and washed away thousands of homes.

"People are still scared because we've reached a point where practically all the cities are in danger," Pierre-Louis said. "It's not only hurricanes. If there is a very bad rain, or heavy rain, people in Gonaive get very scared. We're very worried."

Like their government, some Haitians are still worried about future storms and are willing to risk everything for a better life in the U.S. On the morning of May 13, 10 migrants died when their boat sank off the coast of Palm Beach County.

"It's very hard to say that this will stop now. But we're doing everything we can to prevent it," Pierre-Louis said.

With the United Nations' appointment of former President Bill Clinton as special envoy to Haiti, Pierre-Louis said her country sees hope. Clinton helped raise hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild areas hit hard by the tsunami in Asia in 2004, and Haiti is hoping for the same.

"We're at a turning point in the country. Either we can move forward or fall back," Pierre-Louis reported.

The prime minister planned to visit with Haitian-American leaders on Thursday and then attend a dinner event.

Pierre-Louis became Haiti's prime minister in July 2008.