1. Home
  2. Americas

Haiti hurricane toll soars

Bahare Khodabande/IRIN
A young boy stands in front of a neighbour’s collapsed house in Lakil de Léogâne, one of the many villages in Haiti devastated by Hurricane Matthew.

As Hurricane Matthew hits Florida, it has already left hundreds dead and tens of thousands displaced in Haiti, where the true extent of the disaster is only now beginning to reveal itself, several days after the Category Four storm struck.

Coastal towns in the otherwise sparsely populated southern Tiburon Peninsula, Les Cayes and Jéremie, took the biggest hit. Assessing the damage, and the toll, has been made more difficult because commmunications on the peninsula were down and the area was effectively cut off from the rest of the country when the storm destroyed the main road bridge at Petit Goâve.

According to humanitarian neeeds assessment organisation, ACAPS: "So far, 300 people have been reported dead, and 350,000 people are estimated to be in need of assistance. At least 15,623 people have been displaced and over 21,000 have been evacuated. 

"Some populations in the south are still inaccessible; a greater humanitarian response will likely be necessary to prevent dire long-term consequences, especially given the ongoing cholera epidemic."

The worst is yet to come

bk/ag

Share this article

Get the day’s top headlines in your inbox every morning

Starting at just $5 a month, you can become a member of The New Humanitarian and receive our premium newsletter, DAWNS Digest.

DAWNS Digest has been the trusted essential morning read for global aid and foreign policy professionals for more than 10 years.

Government, media, global governance organisations, NGOs, academics, and more subscribe to DAWNS to receive the day’s top global headlines of news and analysis in their inboxes every weekday morning.

It’s the perfect way to start your day.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian today and you’ll automatically be subscribed to DAWNS Digest – free of charge.

Become a member of The New Humanitarian

Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

Join