Haiti: Hurricane Matthew

Hurricane Matthew, a Category 4 hurricane and one of the largest storms seen in the Caribbean in nearly a decade, is slowly making its way through the region, severely affecting islands such as Haiti & Cuba.

The hurricane made landfall in Haiti, a country still recovering from the devastating 2010 earthquake, at 7am Tuesday morning.

Doctors of the World/Médecins du Monde has been working in Haiti since 1989. We currently have teams on the ground in Port-au-Prince, Les Cayes, Léogâne, Jeremie, and various other locations. Staff members have reported torrential rains, dangerous flooding, rising sea levels and extremely high winds. The extent of the potential damage and chaos that the storm could wreak throughout the island is unknown, as the needs of the local populations are currently being assessed. At least 300,000 people are expected to be affected by the hurricane and many in the town of Les Cayes have been left without electricity after the heavy rains. Around 340,000 people are currently being housed in storm shelters and Haitians living in low lying areas have been advised to seek safety immediately. Seven deaths have already been attributed to the storm, one of which was a Haitian fisherman who drowned in flood waters.

We will continue to monitor the situation and are in active communication with our team members on the ground. We will also continue to provide updates throughout the week and our thoughts are with those in Haiti and elsewhere who have been impacted by Hurricane Matthew.