Hurricane Matthew weakens, makes S. Carolina landfall
JACKSONVILLE (AFP) — A weakened Hurricane Matthew made landfall yesterday in South Carolina, nearing the end of a four- day rampage that left a trail of death and destruction across the Caribbean and up the southeastern US coast, now swamped by record floods.
In Haiti, where Matthew was a monster Category 4 when it slammed into the poorest country in the western hemisphere Tuesday, the official death toll rose to at least 900. Nine were killed in the US. The interim president of Haiti, Jocelerme Privert, announced three days of national mourning starting yesterday.
The scope of the devastation in the south of the Caribbean country was becoming clearer, but the toll remains provisional due to the difficulty of gaining access to some areas.
Half a million children live in the worst-hit departments in southern Haiti, according to UNICEF, which said it needed at least $5 million to meet their immediate needs.
Pledges of aid have flooded in, with the United States announcing it was sending the
USS Mesa Verde, whose 300 Marines will add to the 250 personnel and nine helicopters already ordered to deploy to Haiti.
France announced it was sending 60 troops, with 32 tons of humanitarian supplies and water purification equipment.
California- based charity International Relief Teams said it was donating $7 million in medical supplies, with international organizations MAP International and Hope for Haiti.
Matthew, downgraded to the lowest- level Category 1 hurricane, lashed the coast of South Carolina as the storm moved inland. It then approached coastal North Carolina, with record flooding expected.
Despite flooding, fallen trees and power outages, most of the American southeast appeared to have been spared catastrophic damage as the storm surge turned out to be less severe than expected.
As Matthew approached — after storming through Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Cuba and the Bahamas — millions of Americans were ordered to evacuate and curfews were slapped on cities.
On Saturday, the center of Matthew made landfall in the South Carolina town of McClellanville and there was a “serious inland flooding event unfolding,” the NHC said.