- Title: Haitian leadership readies for Matthew's arrival
- Date: 4th October 2016
- Summary: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (OCTOBER 3, 2016) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** WIDE OF NEWS CONFERENCE ACTING HAITIAN PRESIDENT, JOCELERME PRIVERT, AT BRIEFING PRIVERT IN FRONT OF MICROPHONES (SOUNDBITE) (Creole) INTERIM HAITIAN PRESIDENT, JOCELERME PRIVERT, SAYING: "The hurricane continues as a threat. It's close to our country. It could make landfall at any time. We've already seen deaths. People who were out at sea. There are people who are missing. They are people who didn't respect the alerts. They've lost their lives. There are various, countries, governments, organisations who are promising their help so we can help the victims and receive food on time, and the proper clothing." VIEW OF NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 19th October 2016 06:33
- Keywords: Matthew hurricane eye storm winds satellite
- Location: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI / INTERNET
- City: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI / INTERNET
- Country: Haiti
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Wind/Hurricane/Typhoons/Tornadoes
- Reuters ID: LVA00152L8Z0N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Interim Haitian President, Jocelerme Privert, made underscored the threat posed by Hurricane Matthew during a news briefing in Port-Au-Prince Monday (October 3) as the storm began arriving.
Haitians living in vulnerable coastal shacks frantically are seeking safe shelter as the strongest Caribbean storm in nine years, Hurricane Matthew, closed in on the southwestern peninsula, sending storm surges, wind and rain into seaside towns.
Matthew, a violent Category 4 storm packing 145 mile-per-hour (230 kph) winds, is due to pound the western tip of Haiti in the early hours of Tuesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Already, late on Monday, the outer bands of the cyclone reached the area, flooding dozens of houses in the town of Les Anglais when the ocean rose, the local mayor said. In the town of Les Cayes on the southern coast, the wind bent trees and the power went out.
The head of state convened a news briefing in the nation's capital.
"The hurricane continues as a threat. It's close to our country. It could make landfall at any time. We've already seen deaths. People who were out at sea. There are people who are missing. They are people who didn't respect the alerts. They've lost their lives. There are various, countries, governments, organisations who are promising their help so we can help the victims and receive food on time, and the proper clothing," Privert said.
The storm is forecast to spread hurricane force winds and up to three feet of rain across denuded hills prone to flash floods and mudslides, threatening villages as well as shanty towns in the capital Port-au-Prince.
The cyclone comes at a bad time for Haiti, where tens of thousands of people still live in tents after a 2010 earthquake that killed upwards of 200,000 people. Cholera introduced by U.N. peacekeepers is expected to rise in the October rainy season, and the country was due to hold a long-delayed presidential election in five days time.
Privert's office said there was no change to the election date. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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