Haiti's city of Les Cayes struggles after Hurricane Matthew

Record ID: 84814

  • Title: Haiti's city of Les Cayes struggles after Hurricane Matthew
  • Date: 5th October 2016
  • Summary: LES CAYES, HAITI (OCTOBER 05, 2016) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF DESTROYED HOMES, BOAT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET AS WELL AS STORM DEBRIS GENERAL VIEW OF RESIDENTS WADING THROUGH KNEE-HIGH FLOOD WATERS WOMAN STANDING BY RAILING GENERAL VIEW OF YOUNG GIRL WALKING THROUGH KNEE-HIGH FLOOD WATERS
  • Embargoed: 20th October 2016 15:33
  • Keywords: Haiti Les Cayes Hurricane Matthew flooding aftermath
  • Location: LES CAYES, HAITI
  • City: LES CAYES, HAITI
  • Country: Haiti
  • Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Wind/Hurricane/Typhoons/Tornadoes
  • Reuters ID: LVA00152QC7RB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Hurricane Matthew, the fiercest Caribbean storm in almost a decade, powered toward the Bahamas and Florida early on Wednesday (October 05) after battering Haiti and Cuba with torrential rains and killing at least 10 people.
    The hurricane, which the United Nations said created the worst humanitarian crisis to hit struggling Haiti since a devastating 2010 earthquake, whipped Cuba and Haiti with 140 mile-per-hour (230 kph) winds on Tuesday, pummelling towns, farmland and resorts.
    In Les Cayes, Haiti, images showed the severity of the devastation with debris strewn everywhere, including a boat in the middle of the street. Resident waded through knee-high water in search of provisions.
    It was difficult to assess the severity of the impact on Haiti because Matthew knocked out communications in many of the worst-affected areas, including the main bridge that links much of the country to the southwest peninsula.
    Authorities said on Wednesday two people in Haiti were crushed by trees and two were swept away by swollen rivers.
    Matthew was a Category Four hurricane through Tuesday but was downgraded to Category Three early on Wednesday, the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said.
    The eye of the storm was about 115 miles (185 km) south of Long Island in the Bahamas on Wednesday morning and it was expected to be very near the east coast of Florida by Thursday evening, the NHC said.
    Maximum sustained winds eased to around 115 mph (185 kph) by Wednesday morning but the NHC said it was likely to strengthen again slightly in the coming days.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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