Haiti’s Death Toll From Hurricane Matthew Surpasses 1K; Aid Workers Warn Of Widespread Cholera Outbreak As U.S., U.N. Offer Assistance

Al Jazeera: Haiti death toll from Hurricane Matthew passes 1,000
“The number of people killed in Haiti by Hurricane Matthew has hit 1,000 as the country battles new deaths from a cholera outbreak and buries bodies in mass graves…” (10/10).

The Guardian: Cholera outbreaks in Haiti follow devastation of Hurricane Matthew
“…Outbreaks of cholera led to the deaths of several people, because of flood water mixing with sewage, and fears were growing that the disease could spread…” (Luscombe/Townsend, 10/8).

Los Angeles Times: How much more must Haiti endure?
“…The storm hammered the Caribbean nation’s poor and densely populated southern coast, damaging up to 80 percent of homes and leaving at least 350,000 people in need of immediate aid…” (Simmons, 10/7).

New York Times: Seeing ‘Nothing to Live For’ as Haiti Seeks a Body Count After Hurricane Matthew
“…For now, though, there is no way to know the precise toll of the storm. There are still 500,000 people stranded in the south alone, officials said, because of extensive damage to an already feeble infrastructure…” (Ahmed, 10/8).

Reuters: U.S. sends military, USAID to help Haiti after hurricane
“The United States has sent teams of military and U.S. Agency for International Development personnel to help Haiti after Hurricane Matthew killed hundreds of people and destroyed infrastructure in the Caribbean nation, the White House said on Friday…” (Rascoe et al., 10/7).

Reuters: ‘Like a nuclear bomb,’ cholera and destruction after hurricane in Haiti
“…Reuters visited the Port-a-Piment hospital early on Sunday morning, the first day southwestern Haiti’s main coastal road had become semi-navigable by car. At that time, there were 39 cases of cholera, according to Missole Antoine, the hospital’s medical director. By the early afternoon, there were nearly 60, and four people had died of the waterborne illness…” (Stargardter, 10/10).

Reuters: Hurricane Matthew toll in Haiti rises to 1,000, dead buried in mass graves
“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…” (Delva/Murray, 10/10).

U.N. News Centre: Haiti: U.N. emergency fund allocates $5 million to kick-start assistance in wake of Hurricane Matthew
“…[T]he U.N. announced $5 million in emergency funds to kick-start assistance in the wake of the deadly storm, which has affected some 350,000 people on the tiny island. Along with a grant of $5 million to address the most life-saving needs, the U.N. Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) earlier this week released a loan of $8 million dollars to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to scale up response to the worsening cholera epidemic in Haiti…” (10/7).

Wall Street Journal: Hurricane Matthew: Food, Water Shortages Threaten Haiti Victims
“…Health officials are worried about an increase in cholera cases due to the lack of clean drinking water. In the past six years, around 10,000 Haitians have died from the disease, and there have been about 27,000 cases already this year…” (Whelan, 10/9).

Washington Post: In the wake of Matthew, Haitian towns struggle with cholera
“…Cholera was introduced to Haiti in 2010 by Nepalese peacekeepers, stationed at a United Nations base, whose latrine drained into one of Haiti’s major rivers. Since then, government officials estimate that more than 800,000 people have contracted cholera and that 10,000 people have died. Aid workers had feared that the waterborne disease would spike after the hurricane, when access to clean water is limited. That now has begun…” (Partlow, 10/9).

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