Hurricane Matthew Devastates Haiti
On Tuesday, 4 October, Hurricane Matthew rampaged across Haiti, leaving a trail of destruction in its midst.
Roads to various other districts have been cut off, roofs torn off and palm trees flattened. Now, bodies have begun to appear as the water continues to recede since yesterday. The death toll is currently sitting at over 300 people, with many more injured, homeless or missing.
No strangers to disaster, the Haitians were quick to provide each other with any help they could give. Resident Dominique Osny, from the Sous-Roche district of Les Cayes, Haiti’s third city on the South Coast, was one of the first to rise to the aid of his fellow citizens.
“I’ve been on my feet for two days without sleep. We need to help each other,” said Osny. Like many of his fellow Haitians, he is determined to continue helping others, acknowledging that everyone is in the same boat:
“Everyone is a victim here, houses have been washed away, we lost all the roofing. I lost everything, right up to my birth certificate.”
The Category Four storm raged for over ten hours before moving on, and only now, days later, are the water levels of the rivers beginning to drop.
Yolette Cazenor, a 36-year-old from Les Cayes told sources, “I thought I was going to die. I looked death in the face.”
For hours, gale-force winds and pelting rain left no chance of survival for the meagre crops in Haiti’s community fields. Junior Jetro Cherubin recounts the loss he has experienced:
“I had fields of maize and of chilli peppers, and 100 mango trees and a nursery where people could come and buy pre-germinated shoots for their own plots. I lost everything”.
But like Osny, Cherubin is cheered by the spirit of unity shown by his fellow Haitians, and has turned his thoughts to the future, saying:
“It is time that we work together to re-forest this country and to train people so they know how to build sturdy homes. Otherwise, each natural disaster will be as bad as the last,” he said.
Meanwhile, in the US, the State of Florida awaits as Hurricane Matthew, winds reaching upwards of 200 kilometres per hour, closes in. Over two million people have been urged to flee the area.
