Two people have died so far in the freak hurricane that has devastated the country of Haiti, the storm has now moved from the north-eastern coast of Cuba towards Florida. Warnings have been put into place.
South Carolina has so far evacuated over a million people.
Hurricane Matthew has been classed a category three and is predicted to hit the US East Coast later in the week. The hurricane also hit Cuba although the damage was not as bad as the situation in Haiti, there were winds of 230km/h (145mph), heavy rain and strong storm surges.
Up to 10,000 people were in shelters in Haiti as reports of over-crowded hospitals and water shortages were reported. Emergency services have also been interrupted due to hampered communications and blocked roads.
Laura Sewel, an aid worker for Care Haiti, said, “The mobile network has also gone down. So what this means for us is that we’re out of contact with our staff right now which is quite difficult and the bridge going down means it will be harder to move materials.”
Fonie Pierre, director of Catholic Relief Services for Les Cayes, stated, “Many people are now asking for help, but it’s too late because there is no way to go evacuate them.”
Haiti is one of the world’s poorest countries with many citizens living in fragile housing in easily flooded areas.
