IN PICTURES: Hurricane Matthew toll in Haiti rises to 1,000

IN PICTURES: Hurricane Matthew toll in Haiti rises to 1,000

Haiti started burying some of its dead in mass graves in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, a government official said on Sunday, as cholera spread in the devastated southwest and the death toll from the storm rose to 1,000 people.

A woman looks at her mobile phone as it charges through solar panels after Hurricane Matthew passes in Jeremie, Haiti, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
A woman looks at her mobile phone as it charges through solar panels after Hurricane Matthew passes in Jeremie, Haiti, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

The powerful hurricane, the fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade, slammed into Haiti on Tuesday with 145 mile-per-hour (233 kph) winds and torrential rains that left 1.4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

A person walking on the beach is looking through the remains of a construction destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in a street of Port-a-Piment, Haiti, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares
A person walking on the beach is looking through the remains of a construction destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in a street of Port-a-Piment, Haiti, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares

A Reuters tally of numbers from local officials showed that 1,000 people were killed by the storm in Haiti, which has a population of about 10 million and is the poorest country in the Americas.

People are being treated at the cholera treatment center at the hospital after Hurricane Matthew passes in Jeremie, Haiti, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
People are being treated at the cholera treatment center at the hospital after Hurricane Matthew passes in Jeremie, Haiti, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

The official death toll from the central civil protection agency is 336, a slower count because officials must visit each village to confirm the numbers.

A woman walks on debris in an area devastated by Hurricane Matthew in Port-a-Piment, Haiti, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares
A woman walks on debris in an area devastated by Hurricane Matthew in Port-a-Piment, Haiti, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares

Authorities had to start burying the dead in mass graves in Jeremie because the bodies were starting to decompose, said Kedner Frenel, the most senior central government official in the Grand’Anse region on Haiti’s western peninsula.

A man clears debris after Hurricane Matthew in Port-a-Piment, Haiti, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares
A man clears debris after Hurricane Matthew in Port-a-Piment, Haiti, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares

Frenel said 522 people were killed in Grand’Anse alone. A tally of deaths reported by mayors from 15 of 18 municipalities in Sud Department on the south side of the peninsula showed 386 people there. In the rest of the country, 92 people were killed, the same tally showed.

A woman rides a bike next to a house destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Port-a-Piment, Haiti, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares
A woman rides a bike next to a house destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Port-a-Piment, Haiti, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares

 

Frenel said there was great concern about cholera spreading, and that authorities were focused on getting water, food and medication to the thousands of people living in shelters.

People walk after Hurricane Matthew in a street of Port-a-Piment, Haiti, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares
People walk after Hurricane Matthew in a street of Port-a-Piment, Haiti, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares

Cholera causes severe diarrhea and can kill within hours if untreated. It is spread through contaminated water and has a short incubation period, which leads to rapid outbreaks.

A man sits covering himself with an umbrella on the roof of a house affected by Hurricane Matthew in Port-a-Piment, Haiti, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares
A man sits covering himself with an umbrella on the roof of a house affected by Hurricane Matthew in Port-a-Piment, Haiti, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares

Government teams fanned out across the hard-hit southwestern tip of the country over the weekend to repair treatment centers and reach the epicenter of one outbreak.

A soldier carries relief aid after Hurricane Matthew passes in Jeremie, Haiti, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
A soldier carries relief aid after Hurricane Matthew passes in Jeremie, Haiti, October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

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