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| Hurricane Matthew: New images show scale of Haiti destruction | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| New images show the extent of devastation caused by Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, with one town virtually wiped out and at least 23 people dead. | |
| The death toll is set to rise, however, with Reuters reporting 35 fatalities. | |
| Images of the south-west coastal town of Jeremie show flattened houses, with food and medical facilities badly hit. | |
| Rescue workers have been struggling to reach areas cut off by the hurricane, which was the most powerful Caribbean storm in nearly a decade. | |
| Jeremie was "pretty much wiped out from the seaboard all the way to the cathedral", a radio host in Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince told the BBC on Thursday. | |
| He said the town had been virtually cut off from the rest of the world because of broken down communications since the hurricane. | |
| "The devastation that we are seeing is horrible...The town is really in dire straits and it's very, very bad down there." | |
| Images of Jeremie were taken by air, which is the only way to reach the town. | |
| A presidential election due this weekend in Haiti has been postponed because of the hurricane, which has left destruction across the Caribbean region. | |
| Four people were also killed in the neighbouring Dominican Republic. | |
| The storm is now pounding the Bahamas. It is expected to intensify as it moves towards the US state of Florida, where US residents have been warned to prepare for a "direct hit". | |
| Florida Governor Rick Scott said his state could be facing its biggest evacuation ever. | Florida Governor Rick Scott said his state could be facing its biggest evacuation ever. |
| Matthew battered Haiti with winds of up to 230km/h (145mph) on Tuesday. The country is one of the world's poorest, with many residents living in flimsy housing in flood-prone areas. | |
| One official for aid agency Oxfam told the BBC that more than 10,000 people had been displaced in the south alone. | |
| Officials are concerned about the full extent of the damage in the Grand Anse area on the southern tip of the island - where Jeremie lies - which was directly in the storm's path. | |
| A key bridge has been destroyed, roads are impassable and phone communications are down, they said. | |
| Mourad Wahba, the UN special representative for Haiti, said hospitals were overflowing. | |
| Among the damaged buildings were schools and churches due to be used as polling stations in Haiti's election. A new date for the much-delayed vote has not yet been announced. | Among the damaged buildings were schools and churches due to be used as polling stations in Haiti's election. A new date for the much-delayed vote has not yet been announced. |
| At the scene: Tony Brown, BBC News, Haiti | At the scene: Tony Brown, BBC News, Haiti |
| We only began to see the real destructive force of Hurricane Matthew once we moved towards the south-west of the country. | We only began to see the real destructive force of Hurricane Matthew once we moved towards the south-west of the country. |
| Trees fallen, banana crops uprooted and flattened, houses under water and men and women trying to get the debris out of the way. | Trees fallen, banana crops uprooted and flattened, houses under water and men and women trying to get the debris out of the way. |
| It was noticeable how the people we passed were coping alone. There were no army or police around to help. | It was noticeable how the people we passed were coping alone. There were no army or police around to help. |
| Even the aid agencies are struggling to move around this damaged corner of the country. | Even the aid agencies are struggling to move around this damaged corner of the country. |
| Read more | Read more |
| Why Haiti is vulnerable to disasters | Why Haiti is vulnerable to disasters |
| Hurricane Matthew has left a trail of destruction across the Caribbean, but nowhere has the devastation been more severe than in Haiti. The country has accounted for 23 of the 27 deaths so far. | Hurricane Matthew has left a trail of destruction across the Caribbean, but nowhere has the devastation been more severe than in Haiti. The country has accounted for 23 of the 27 deaths so far. |
| The poorest country in the Americas, Haiti has long been particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. Six years after an earthquake killed more than 200,000 people and displaced 1.5 million, tens of thousands of quake victims still live in temporary shelters. | The poorest country in the Americas, Haiti has long been particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. Six years after an earthquake killed more than 200,000 people and displaced 1.5 million, tens of thousands of quake victims still live in temporary shelters. |
| More than half of Haiti's city-dwellers live in overcrowded shantytowns that take the full force of any earthquake, hurricane, or disease outbreak. An ongoing cholera epidemic, triggered by the arrival of UN troops after the 2010 quake, has killed thousands of people. | More than half of Haiti's city-dwellers live in overcrowded shantytowns that take the full force of any earthquake, hurricane, or disease outbreak. An ongoing cholera epidemic, triggered by the arrival of UN troops after the 2010 quake, has killed thousands of people. |
| Massive deforestation has also led to soil erosion, leaving hillside huts and poorly-built houses in the capital, Port-au-Prince, dangerously exposed. The consequence in rural areas, where many depend on small plots of land for their food, is that topsoil is often washed away. In one town in south-west Haiti, a mayor told France's Le Monde newspaper that 80% of the farmland had been destroyed by Hurricane Matthew. | Massive deforestation has also led to soil erosion, leaving hillside huts and poorly-built houses in the capital, Port-au-Prince, dangerously exposed. The consequence in rural areas, where many depend on small plots of land for their food, is that topsoil is often washed away. In one town in south-west Haiti, a mayor told France's Le Monde newspaper that 80% of the farmland had been destroyed by Hurricane Matthew. |
| Political instability and corruption have been a factor. Without effective government for decades, Haiti currently ranks 163rd out of the 188 countries on the UN Human Development Index. It spends little on storm defences. | Political instability and corruption have been a factor. Without effective government for decades, Haiti currently ranks 163rd out of the 188 countries on the UN Human Development Index. It spends little on storm defences. |
| Hurricane scales | Hurricane scales |
| Category one: sustained winds of 74-95mph (119-153 km/h); some damage and power cuts | Category one: sustained winds of 74-95mph (119-153 km/h); some damage and power cuts |
| Category two: winds of 96-110mph (154-177 km/h); extensive damage | Category two: winds of 96-110mph (154-177 km/h); extensive damage |
| Category three: winds of 111-129mph (178-208 km/h); well-built homes suffer major damage | Category three: winds of 111-129mph (178-208 km/h); well-built homes suffer major damage |
| Category four: winds of 130-156mph (209-251 km/h); severe damage to well-built homes, most trees snapped or uprooted | Category four: winds of 130-156mph (209-251 km/h); severe damage to well-built homes, most trees snapped or uprooted |
| Category five: winds of 157 mph (252 km/h) or higher; high percentage of homes destroyed, area uninhabitable for weeks or months | Category five: winds of 157 mph (252 km/h) or higher; high percentage of homes destroyed, area uninhabitable for weeks or months |
| Source: NOAA | Source: NOAA |