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| Rescuers battle to reach remote areas of Haiti hit by Hurricane Matthew | Rescuers battle to reach remote areas of Haiti hit by Hurricane Matthew |
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| Rescue workers and aid agencies were hoping to begin reaching remote areas of south-west Haiti on Thursday to assess the damage wrought by Hurricane Matthew, which has killed at least 35 people, displaced 15,000 and left hundreds of thousands in need of assistance. | Rescue workers and aid agencies were hoping to begin reaching remote areas of south-west Haiti on Thursday to assess the damage wrought by Hurricane Matthew, which has killed at least 35 people, displaced 15,000 and left hundreds of thousands in need of assistance. |
| The hurricane, which hit Haiti on Tuesday, brought 145mph winds and torrential rains that have destroyed more than 3,200 homes, ruined plantations and drowned animals. | The hurricane, which hit Haiti on Tuesday, brought 145mph winds and torrential rains that have destroyed more than 3,200 homes, ruined plantations and drowned animals. |
| Efforts to access the worst-affected areas – including the Grand’Anse and Sud departments – have been hampered by flooding, the collapse of communications networks and the destruction of a key bridge. | Efforts to access the worst-affected areas – including the Grand’Anse and Sud departments – have been hampered by flooding, the collapse of communications networks and the destruction of a key bridge. |
| But as the weather clears, Haitian authorities, the UN and national and international non-governmental organisations are starting to get a better idea of the scale of the destruction. The airport in the capital, Port-au-Prince, has reopened for humanitarian flights and two portable satellites are being used to restore communications with cut-off areas. | But as the weather clears, Haitian authorities, the UN and national and international non-governmental organisations are starting to get a better idea of the scale of the destruction. The airport in the capital, Port-au-Prince, has reopened for humanitarian flights and two portable satellites are being used to restore communications with cut-off areas. |
| Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste, the head of the country’s civil protection directorate, warned the death toll was likely to rise as emergency workers reached the stricken regions. | Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste, the head of the country’s civil protection directorate, warned the death toll was likely to rise as emergency workers reached the stricken regions. |
| “We do know there’s a lot of damage in the Grand’Anse, and we also know human life has been lost there,” she told the Associated Press. | “We do know there’s a lot of damage in the Grand’Anse, and we also know human life has been lost there,” she told the Associated Press. |
| The port city of Les Cayes in Sud is also feared to have suffered badly in the storm. | The port city of Les Cayes in Sud is also feared to have suffered badly in the storm. |
| “The situation in Les Cayes is catastrophic, the city is flooded, you have trees lying in different places and you can barely move around,” its deputy mayor, Claudette Regis Delerme, told Reuters. | “The situation in Les Cayes is catastrophic, the city is flooded, you have trees lying in different places and you can barely move around,” its deputy mayor, Claudette Regis Delerme, told Reuters. |
| The UN has described the hurricane as Haiti’s worst humanitarian crisis since the devastating earthquake six years ago. The rains and flooding have prompted fears of a surge in the cholera epidemic that has killed almost 10,000 people since the disease was accidentally introduced to Haiti by UN peacekeepers. | The UN has described the hurricane as Haiti’s worst humanitarian crisis since the devastating earthquake six years ago. The rains and flooding have prompted fears of a surge in the cholera epidemic that has killed almost 10,000 people since the disease was accidentally introduced to Haiti by UN peacekeepers. |
| Prospery Raymond, the country manager for Christian Aid, said that unless water and sanitation supplies were brought to areas where the water was now “sticky with mud”, the risk of cholera would only increase “and there will be another emergency to deal with when it comes to all sorts of water-borne diseases”. | Prospery Raymond, the country manager for Christian Aid, said that unless water and sanitation supplies were brought to areas where the water was now “sticky with mud”, the risk of cholera would only increase “and there will be another emergency to deal with when it comes to all sorts of water-borne diseases”. |
| Action Aid issued a similar warning. Its country director, Yolette Etienne, said that more than 500,000 men, women and children urgently needed food, clean drinking water and safe shelter. | |
| “Cholera is now a real danger as the already extremely poor sanitation system has been totally overwhelmed by flooding and heavy rainfall meaning the disease could spread quickly,” she said. “The situation is even worse in the shelters which often don’t even have enough toilet and are short of clean drinking water.” | “Cholera is now a real danger as the already extremely poor sanitation system has been totally overwhelmed by flooding and heavy rainfall meaning the disease could spread quickly,” she said. “The situation is even worse in the shelters which often don’t even have enough toilet and are short of clean drinking water.” |
| According to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 15,263 people displaced by the hurricane have been placed in 152 shelters. | According to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 15,263 people displaced by the hurricane have been placed in 152 shelters. |
| The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) and its children’s agency, Unicef, have begun mobilising resources to help. WFP has arranged enough food supplies to feed 300,000 people for a month, and has a further 34 tonnes of food on standby in Miami. | The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) and its children’s agency, Unicef, have begun mobilising resources to help. WFP has arranged enough food supplies to feed 300,000 people for a month, and has a further 34 tonnes of food on standby in Miami. |
| Unicef is preparing life-saving aid for 10,000 people in Haiti, while the international NGO World Vision is to provide water and sanitation help to 50,000 families. | Unicef is preparing life-saving aid for 10,000 people in Haiti, while the international NGO World Vision is to provide water and sanitation help to 50,000 families. |
| The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation is also poised to deliver seeds to affected areas to help farmers rebuild their livelihoods. | The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation is also poised to deliver seeds to affected areas to help farmers rebuild their livelihoods. |
| A deployment of US military personnel and nine helicopters are expected to arrive in Port-au-Prince over the next few days to help the relief effort. | A deployment of US military personnel and nine helicopters are expected to arrive in Port-au-Prince over the next few days to help the relief effort. |
| In Aquin, a town outside Les Cayes, people have been braving the mud to see what Matthew has done to their clapboard houses and tiny shops. | In Aquin, a town outside Les Cayes, people have been braving the mud to see what Matthew has done to their clapboard houses and tiny shops. |
| Like many Haitians who were reluctant to leave their homes for fear of losing their personal belongings, Cenita Leconte had initially ignored official calls to evacuate as the hurricane hit. Eventually, however, she gave in – and in doing so probably saved her life. | Like many Haitians who were reluctant to leave their homes for fear of losing their personal belongings, Cenita Leconte had initially ignored official calls to evacuate as the hurricane hit. Eventually, however, she gave in – and in doing so probably saved her life. |
| “We’ve lost everything we own,” Leconte, 75, told AP. “But it would have been our fault if we stayed here and died.” | “We’ve lost everything we own,” Leconte, 75, told AP. “But it would have been our fault if we stayed here and died.” |