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Hurricane Matthew Pummels Haiti With Fierce Winds and Rain Hurricane Matthew Pummels Haiti With Fierce Winds and Rain
(about 1 hour later)
Hurricane Matthew pounded the southern coast of Haiti with devastating fury early Tuesday, wrecking homes and cutting off transportation, as a broad swath of the Caribbean was pummeled by fierce winds and rain. Hurricane Matthew slammed into Haiti’s southern coast with life-threatening fury Tuesday, wrecking homes, sweeping away livestock and cutting off transportation as a swath of the Caribbean was pummeled by the storm’s 145-mile-per-hour winds and torrential rain.
The storm, a Category 4 hurricane, made landfall around 7 a.m. at Les Anglais, a town on the southwestern tip of Haiti, the western half of the island of Hispaniola.The storm, a Category 4 hurricane, made landfall around 7 a.m. at Les Anglais, a town on the southwestern tip of Haiti, the western half of the island of Hispaniola.
“There is major destruction right now,” said Fidèle Nicolas, a civil protection coordinator in the Nippes department in southwestern Haiti. “Lots of rooftops are gone, but fatalities reported so far have been few.” Officials reported that some 400 homes had been destroyed, and at least one person killed. Communication was difficult, and there was no confirmation of how many people may have been killed or injured. But it was clear in phone calls with frantic residents that they were coping with major devastation as the storm felled trees, ripped roofs and destroyed farms in what already was a struggling area in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country.
“Thank God our neighbors came to save us,” said Daphne Thelma, a resident of Les Cayes, one of the hardest-hit towns on the southern coast. “We lost all our crops, and have nothing left.”
She said her family of eight, four of them children, had been rescued by neighbors as trees crashed into their home. The family split up to ride out the storm in different houses.
Video taken in Les Cayes shows trees blown by powerful winds. A voice in the video is heard yelling, “Pray for us.”
Adassa Romilus, a spokeswoman for Heifer International, a charity that works with 30,000 farming families in Haiti, said many livestock placed in shelters for protection had been killed. “The shelters couldn’t withstand the force of the hurricane,” she said.
“There is major destruction right now,” said Fidèle Nicolas, a civil protection coordinator in the Nippes department in southwestern Haiti. “Lots of rooftops are gone, but fatalities reported so far have been few.” Officials reported that roughly 400 homes had been destroyed, and at least one person killed.
The National Hurricane Center projected rainfall of 15 to 25 inches in southern Haiti and in the southwestern part of the Dominican Republic, and it warned that as much as 40 inches of rain may fall in some areas.The National Hurricane Center projected rainfall of 15 to 25 inches in southern Haiti and in the southwestern part of the Dominican Republic, and it warned that as much as 40 inches of rain may fall in some areas.
In Les Cayes on the southern coast, the storm bent trees and cut off power. In Fond-des-Blancs, a bit to the east, a hospital posted a video showing lashing winds and rain. Streets in Port-au-Prince, the capital, flooded on Tuesday and public transit was paralyzed. But by midday the severity of the destruction in Haiti remained unclear.
Streets in Port-au-Prince, the capital, flooded on Tuesday and public transit was paralyzed. But the mass destruction that was feared in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, appeared not to have materialized. That could change as more flooding occurs, officials cautioned. Officials cautioned that flooding could worsen the damage.
Melanie Jean Pierre, a 32-year-old street vendor, said she was riding out the storm in Port-au-Prince with her children. So far, she said, the only damage has come from a leak in the roof that soaked her bed.Melanie Jean Pierre, a 32-year-old street vendor, said she was riding out the storm in Port-au-Prince with her children. So far, she said, the only damage has come from a leak in the roof that soaked her bed.
“In normal time, we can barely make a living,” she said. “If this hurricane hits as hard as they are predicting on the radio, I don’t know where I’m going to stay with my three children.”“In normal time, we can barely make a living,” she said. “If this hurricane hits as hard as they are predicting on the radio, I don’t know where I’m going to stay with my three children.”
More than four million children may be threatened by the hurricane, Unicef warned on Tuesday. “This is the worst storm Haiti has seen in decades, and the damage will no doubt be significant,” said Marc Vincent, the Unicef representative in Haiti. “Water-borne diseases are the first threat to children in similar situations. Our first priority is to make sure children have enough safe water.” More than four million children may be threatened by the hurricane, Unicef warned on Tuesday. “This is the worst storm Haiti has seen in decades, and the damage will no doubt be significant,” said Marc Vincent, the Unicef representative in Haiti. “Waterborne diseases are the first threat to children in similar situations. Our first priority is to make sure children have enough safe water.”
Haiti is still recovering from a devastating 2010 earthquake; 55,000 people are living in shelters and cholera is endemic. The country’s southern coast is one of the poorest and most densely populated parts of the country. Jessica Pearl, the Haiti country director for the Mercy Corps charity, who lives in Port-au-Prince, said a main concern in storm-ravaged areas would be providing drinking water, which she described as “a problem in normal times.”
Haiti still is recovering from a devastating 2010 earthquake, with 55,000 people living in shelters. A cholera epidemic that followed the earthquake has persisted, and it spiked in 2016. Partners in Health, an aid agency that has long worked in Haiti, says there have been 26,000 cholera cases this year.
The hurricane “has the potential to be a big setback for years of efforts to bring cholera under control,” Ms. Pearl said. “The people here have just been pushed down by one thing after another.”
The combination of a dangerous storm surge and large and destructive waves could raise water levels by seven to 11 feet above normal tide levels on the southern coast of Cuba; seven to 10 feet on the southern coast of Haiti; four to six feet on the northern coast of Cuba; and four to six feet in Jamaica, the hurricane center warned.The combination of a dangerous storm surge and large and destructive waves could raise water levels by seven to 11 feet above normal tide levels on the southern coast of Cuba; seven to 10 feet on the southern coast of Haiti; four to six feet on the northern coast of Cuba; and four to six feet in Jamaica, the hurricane center warned.