Almost 900 are killed and homes flattened as monster Hurricane Matthew batters Haiti
were almost inaccessible. She said: “What we’ve seen thus far has been a fairly widespread destruction in the south, potentially at points of 90 per cent destruction in some of l o c at ions – complet e destruction.”
Government and UN officials estimate that some 350,000 people need help.
Non-governmental organisations say communication with the areas worst affected has been hampered by downed power l ines and lack of phone coverage.
The US are sending the naval vessel USS Mesa Verde to assist rescue efforts, as well as nine military helicopters to help deliver food and water to the hardest-hit areas.
The Red Cross have launched an emergency appeal for £ 5.6m i l l ion to prov ide medical, shelter, water and sanitation for 50,000 people. Hurricane Matthew has now made landfal l in South Carolina in the US, having battered Florida on Friday.
It has been blamed for at least four deaths.
It lashed two of the southern United States’ most historic cities and some of its most popula r resor t islands, f lattening trees, swamping streets and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes. The deaths in Florida included an elderly St Lucie County couple who d ied f rom carbon monoxide fumes whi le running a generator in their garage and two women who were killed when trees fell on a home and a camper.
The US National Hurricane Center has downgraded it to a Category 1 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds having decreased to 75mph.