- Title: Hurricane Matthew is a "big, bad beast" that could flood U.S. coast, U.N. warns
- Date: 7th October 2016
- Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (OCTOBER 7, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF UNITED NATIONS BUILDING NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESS OFFICER OF WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANISATION (WEATHER AGENCY OF THE UNITED NATIONS), CLARE NULLIS, SAYING: "Matthew is a very big and very bad, bad beast. And it's not going to go away in the next couple of days. Matthew has obviously battered Haiti, it went on to Cuba, Bahamas took a real hammering in the last couple of days. And it's now turning its fury towards Florida, Georgia and South Carolina." JOURNALISTS WORKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESS OFFICER OF WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANISATION (WEATHER AGENCY OF THE UNITED NATIONS), CLARE NULLIS, SAYING: "The very dangerous thing about this hurricane is that according to the current tracks, it's not going to make a direct hit on land and then go away. It's rather going to hug the coastline for several days. So that means that the potential for flooding from the very very heavy rainfall, from the extremely powerful storm surge. It's going to stick around for longer." JOURNALISTS WORKING (SOUNDBITE) (French) WHO COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, FADELA CHAIB, SAYING: "It is highly possible that the cases of cholera will be registered, perhaps not immediately, as with all water borne diseases. It takes a few weeks so that cases are recorded. And it is for this reason that the WHO has prepared in advance, sending a team to be able to rapidly detect the first case, and know exactly where it is found, to eventually limit the cases of cholera in other regions." JOURNALIST WORKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF HAITI AND U.N. UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR OPERATIONS AND PROGRAMMES, GARRY CONILLE, SAYING: "In the case of Haiti, what we've seen is that, two, three years after the earthquake, the interest and the commitment of the donors and partners to the reconstruction and rebuilding effort diminished quite significantly, and that I think has fuelled a level of fragility that of course makes them, makes us incapable of dealing with shocks, the type of shocks, that we've seen in the last few days." UNITED NATIONS BUILDING
- Embargoed: 22nd October 2016 11:58
- Keywords: Haiti Florida Bahamas Cuba aid humanitarian cholera hurricane
- Location: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- City: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
- Country: Switzerland
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Floods
- Reuters ID: LVA001530A5VR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The first major hurricane threatening a direct hit on the United States in more than 10 years is "not going to go away in the next couple of days," the U.N.'s weather agency said on Friday (October 7).
"Matthew is a very big and very bad, bad beast," Claire Nullis of the World Meteorological Organisation said.
A Reuters tally of deaths reported by local officials showed the storm killed at least 339 people in Haiti and displaced thousands as it flattened homes, uprooted trees and inundated neighbourhoods on its way through Haiti's southwestern peninsula.
"The very dangerous thing about this hurricane is that according to the current tracks, it's not going to make a direct hit on land and then go away. It's rather going to hug the coastline for several days. So that means that the potential for flooding from the very very heavy rainfall, from the extremely powerful storm surge," she added.
Hurricane Matthew packed gusts of 70 miles per hour (115 kph) and heavy downpours across coastal communities in Florida as the storm's eye moved parallel to and just offshore of Florida's east coast near Cape Canaveral, home to the nation's chief space launch site, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory.
The World Health Organization said the storm damaged some hospitals in Haiti, and communication lines have been affected.
The WHO sent experts in sanitation, epidemiology and logistics, and a team who will detect the possible presence of cholera.
"It is highly possible that the cases of cholera will be registered, perhaps not immediately, as with all water borne diseases," WHO's communications officer, Fadela Chaib said.
Following the 2010 earthquake, U.N. peacekeepers inadvertently introduced cholera to Haiti, killing at least 9,000 people and infecting hundreds of thousands more.
U.N.'s under-secretary-general for operations Garry Connile, former prime minister of Haiti, voiced concern for women and children, and said U.N. teams were being organised for quick response.
"In the case of Haiti, what we've seen is that, two, three years after the earthquake, the interest and the commitment of the donors and partners to the reconstruction and rebuilding effort diminished quite significantly, and that I think has fuelled a level of fragility that of course makes them, makes us incapable of dealing with shocks, the type of shocks, that we've seen in the last few days," Connile said.
Poverty, weak government and precarious living conditions for many of its citizens make Haiti particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. International aid has at times made things worse. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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