Haiti fatalities from Hurricane Matthew climb to nearly 900

Anoutbreak of cholera is adding to the number of people killed by Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, where most of the storm's fatalities were reported in villages on a normally picturesque southwestern peninsula.

Information is slow in coming, but it now appears nearly 900Haitians died in the storm and many more remain missing.

Cholera outbreaks have killed at least 13 people in southwest Haiti in the hurricane'swake, governmentofficials said Saturday, voicing concern that the disease is spreading.

Six people died of cholera in the southern town of Randel, while another seven died in the western coastal town of Anse-d'Hainault, the officials said.

Dr. Donald Francois, head of the Haitian health ministry's cholera program, said 62 others were sick with the disease.Flooding from storms spreads the water-borne infection, which causes severe diarrhea.

Cuba sent 38 doctors to theneighbouring island nationSaturdayalong with a shipment of aid and supplies.

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The number of deaths in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, jumped to at least 877 on Friday as informationtrickled in from remote areas previously cut off by the storm,according to a Reuters tally of tolls from officials.

Officials say at least 30,000 homes were destroyed on one southwesternpeninsula alone. Thick mud and water could be seen onroads in the town ofCavaillon, which islocated on Tiburonpeninsula.

Most of the fatalities were in towns and fishing villages around the western end of thepeninsula, normallyone of Haiti's most picturesque regions.

The storm passed directly through the peninsula, driving the sea inland and flattening homes lastMonday and Tuesday.

The vicious winds also flattened sugar plantations, knocked out electricity and left garbage and water in the streets.

In thethe farming village of Chantal, the mayor said86 people died,mostly when trees crushed houses. He said 20 others weremissing.

"A tree fell on the house and flattened it. The entire housefell on us. I couldn't get out," said 27-year-old driverJean-Pierre Jean-Donald.

"People came to lift the rubble, and then we saw my wife whohad died in the same spot," said Jean-Donald, who had beenmarried for only a year. His young daughter stood by his side,crying "Mommy."

Haiti hit hard by Hurricane Matthew

8 years ago

Duration 1:01

Town of Jeremie virtually 'wiped off the map'

With cellphone networks down and roads flooded, aid has beenslow to reach hard-hit areas. Food was scarce and at least sevenpeople died of cholera, likely because of flood water mixingwith sewage.

The Mesa Verde, a U.S. Navy amphibious transport dock ship,was en route to Haiti to support relief efforts. The ship hasheavy-lift helicopters, bulldozers, fresh-water deliveryvehicles and two surgical operating rooms.

Canada allocates$3Mfor relief efforts

Canadais joining efforts to help Haiti recover from the storm.

"We just released a first amount of $300,000 to the Red Cross,"Marie-ClaudeBibeau, Canada's minister of international development, told CBC.

"We are still waiting for the United Nations to submit their request, and we have our own team in the field right now," providing food, water, sanitation andbasic health services, she said.

The Canadian Disaster Assessment Team (CDAT) has been deployed to Haiti to assess needs and coordinate relief efforts, Global Affairs Canada said in a news release on Thursday.

"The Canadian government has set aside up to $3 million as an initial humanitarian response for those in Haiti and other countries in the region affected by Hurricane Matthew," the release said.

• HaitianMontrealersplead for Red Cross donations to help Hurricane Matthew's victims

More than1.24 million people have been affected by the storm in Haiti, Global Affairs Canada said.

The storm isalsoblamed for at least 10 deaths in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. Four people were killed lastweekend in the Dominican Republic, which shares the island ofHispaniolawith Haiti.

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