- Title: Hurricane Matthew hits hospital in southern Haiti
- Date: 5th October 2016
- Summary: LES CAYES, HAITI (OCTOBER 5, 2016) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF PEOPLE WALKING THROUGH FLOOD WATERS OUTSIDE HOSPITAL EXTERIOR OF MATERNITY WARD AT HOSPITAL WOMAN HOLDING A YOUNG CHILD, BLEEDING FROM THE LIPS VARIOUS OF PEOPLE AT HOSPITAL AN IV BAG MORE OF PATIENTS IN HOSPITAL PATIENT'S FEET (SOUNDBITE) (Creole) UNIDENTIFIED HOSPITAL PATIENT, SAYING: "I have been here waiting for 12 days. I was ready for an x-ray that they were supposed to on Tuesday, but then the hurricane came." WATER DRIPPING ON THE FLOOR WATER DRIPPING FROM A LIGHT BULB VARIOUS OF FAMILY MEMBERS OF PATIENTS OUTSIDE THE HOSPITAL
- Embargoed: 20th October 2016 21:05
- Keywords: Hurricane Matthew Haiti maternity hospital flooding aftermath catastrophe
- Location: LES CAYES, HAITI
- City: LES CAYES, HAITI
- Country: Haiti
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents
- Reuters ID: LVA00152QE0JR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Hurricane Matthew churned toward the Bahamas and Florida's east coast on Wednesday (October 5) after killing at least 21 people in Haiti and prompting the hard-hit country to postpone a long-awaited presidential election.
The hurricane, the fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade, whipped Cuba and Haiti with 140 mile-per-hour (230 kph) winds and torrential rains on Tuesday (October 4), pummelling towns and destroying livestock, crops and homes.
At a hospital in Les Cayes, Haiti, one of the hardest hit areas, conditions were bleak after flooding and power outages made treating patients especially difficult.
"I have been here waiting for 12 days. I was ready for an x-ray that they were supposed to on Tuesday, but then the hurricane came," one patient said.
Matthew was a Category 4 hurricane through Tuesday but was downgraded to a still powerful Category 3 early on Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
The storm had sustained winds of about 120 miles per hour (195 kph) on Wednesday afternoon but the NHC said it could strengthen over warm waters as it approaches Florida.
The eye of the storm was about 70 miles (113 km) south of Long Island in the Bahamas at 2 p.m. EST (1800 GMT) and was expected to be very near the east coast of Florida by Thursday evening, the NHC said.
Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, had been set to hold a repeatedly-postponed presidential election on Sunday (October 9), but the country's electoral council delayed it again in the aftermath of Matthew. No new date has yet been set.
Hundreds of thousands of people had been evacuated from the path of the Matthew, which caused severe flooding and killed four people in the Dominican Republic as well as at least 21 in Haiti. The two countries share the island of Hispaniola. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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