Haiti hurricane death toll nears 900 as US is hit
THE number of lives claimed by Hurricane Matthew reached nearly 900 last night as the storm continued to rip up America’s East Coast.
The storm made landfall near the historic city of Charleston, South Carolina, which was left submerged by 9ft storm surges.
In the US, Matthew claimed six lives and left 1.6million without power, with some areas not expected to recover for months.
Haiti, which bore the brunt of Matthew’s force last week, has seen the death toll hit 877. That is set to rise as flood waters recede, exposing bodies.
Matthew, which saw winds hit 145mph, is the worst storm to threaten America’s Atlantic seaboard in more than a decade. It sparked the mandatory evacuation of three million US citizens.
Matthew tore through Haiti, Cuba and the Bahamas before savaging the East Coast of the US where governors in Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina declared states of emergency. By the time it reached South Carolina yesterday, Matthew had weakened to a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 75mph and 15 inches of rain.
The storm made landfall along the central coast and sent waves crashing over the seawall in Charleston. The city of Savannah, Georgia, was under several feet of water as highways were closed, trees uprooted and roofs peeled off by the wind. Florida governor Rick Scott said that he felt ‘blessed’ that the storm had not come inland – but the clean-up now beginning is expected to cost billions.
The deaths in America included an elderly couple in St Lucie County, Florida, killed by carbon monoxide fumes while running a generator in their garage.
In Haiti at least seven people have died from cholera caused by sewage mixing with drinking water, and rural clinics have been overwhelmed by the injured.