Hurricane Matthew, at least 400 dead

Hurricane Matthew – the most powerful Caribbean storm in nearly a decade, has left at least 400 people dead in Haiti.

15:29 07 October 2016

Haiti’s interior minister, Francois Anick Joseph, has confirmed that Hurricane Matthew has left at least 108 people dead in the country, at least 50 of them died in the southern town of Roche-a-Bateau. Many of the victims were killed by swollen rivers, flying debris and falling trees.

 

Bahamas was also affected but no fatalities were reported.

 

The hurricane is the most powerful Caribbean storm in nearly a decade. New images of remote and cut off areas in the south-west of the country show scenes of devastation.

 

The hurricane, which was downgraded from category five to category four, heads for Florida, United States.

 

Hurricane Matthew is the deadliest Atlantic storm since 2012, when Hurricane Sandy (category three storm) killed at least 147 people.

 

Mr Joseph announced a rapid increase in the death tool on Thursday as aid workers and authorities tried to gauge the true scale of devastation.

 

More than 20,000 people have been displaced and at least 29,000 homes were destroyed in the hard-hit Sud department alone. Across the country, there are some 350,000 people in need of assistance.

 

Care relief agency's Jean-Michel Vigreux, said: "All phone lines and electricity are gone. Access is completely cut off, and everyone is running out of food and money."