The people of Hati have continued to plead for essential resources in the wake of Hurricane Matthew’s wrath, with the presence of Cholera dangerously close to wreaking more havoc on the country.
According to Reuters, the number of deaths has climbed to 1000, with officials creating mass graves to avoid the decomposition of bodies. Their tally differentiates from the central civil protection agency who stated the death toll is at 336. Kedner Frenel, the senior official of the Grand-Anse region, says 522 have died in his area alone. So far, 15 of 18 municipalities in Sud Department have reported tallies, but no number will be confirmed until authorities physically reach every region.
Many areas of the country are destroyed, including the towns of Les Cayes, Port Salut and Jérémie. Located in Grand-Anse, the New York Times reports Jérémie’s resources like cellphone towers came crashing down when last week’s 145 mph winds from the storm took over. After announcing an emergency appeal of $119 million for relief, the U.N. reported over 1.4 million people are in need of help out of the 2.1 affected by the storm.
Haiti Flash Appeal: $119M urgently needed to provide immediate life-saving aid to 750,000 people https://t.co/a44RlrvEiM #HurricaneMatthew pic.twitter.com/wkQYVNOZcJ
— United Nations (@UN) October 10, 2016
NBC News reports despite the efforts of organizations and the U.N.; little resources have reached residents. “There’s no water, no antibiotics,” Herby Jean of Dame Marie said. “Everything is depleted … We hear helicopters flying overhead, but we’re not getting anything.”
Officials have also expressed a dangerous fear of chorea outbreaks. The deadly disease was accidentally brought to the country by UN soldiers when they dumped sewage into the water after the 2010 earthquake. On Monday (Oct. 10) dozens of patients filled the open-air cholera treatment center in Jérémie. Many of the patients were under 10-years-old. Brought on by contaminated water, symptoms include diarrhea and vomiting and can turn deadly if left untreated. Since the previous earthquake, the World Health Organization reported 80,000 cases in Haiti with 770 new cases a week in 2016. In total, the disease has killed over 9,000 people.
Meanwhile, North American terrain has suffered way less. Minimal damages happened in Florida, while North Carolina has endured deadly floods. A total of 34 people have died: 15 in N.C.; 12 in Fla.; three in South Carolina; three in Georgia; and one in Virginia. Hurricane Matthew officially pulled away from the state on Sunday (Oct. 9)