Source: BBC
One of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in recent years has hit Haiti, bringing 145mph (230km/h) winds, heavy rain and dangerous storm surges.
Hurricane Matthew, a Category Four storm, made landfall at the south-western tip at about 11:00 GMT.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Haiti was “getting everything a major hurricane can throw at them”.
Reports from the southern coast spoke of communities under water and buildings stripped of roofs.
Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste, director of the country’s Civil Protection Agency, told Associated Press: “It’s much too early to know how bad things are but we do know there are a lot of houses that have been destroyed or damaged in the south.”
One resident too ill to leave their home was killed when waves struck in the town of Port Salut.
Haiti’s Interim President Jocelerme Privert said earlier that some people at sea or who had not “respected alerts” had died, but he gave no figures.
Haiti is one of the world’s poorest countries and many of its residents live in wooden or corrugated steel shacks in areas prone to flooding. Matthew is expected to bring up to 40in (102cm) of rain to some parts as it moves north at about 15km/h.
Social media footage from the southern coastal town of Les Cayes showed palm trees being bent sideways and buildings with roofs sheared off buildings.
American journalist Jacqueline Charles told the BBC from the capital, Port-au-Prince, that reports from Les Cayes spoke of people walking in water shoulder high, with relief workers saying that other coastal communities were also under water.
Categories: Haiti, Natural Disaster, North America, The Muslim Times