Haiti: Hurricane Matthew - Situation Report No. 10 (14 October 2016)

Highlights

• 546 dead, 438 injured, and 128 missing \

• 2.1 million people are affected throughout the country

• 750,000 people, including 315,000 children, need urgent humanitarian aid for the next three months

• 112,500 children under age five are at risk of acute malnutrition

• 100 per cent of crops destroyed in Grand’Anse

• Education is disrupted for 106,250 children

Situation Overview

Hurricane Matthew, which violently struck parts of Haiti on 4 October, resulted in the largest humanitarian emergency since the 2010 earthquake. It caused extensive flooding and mudslides, damage to road infrastructure and buildings, and electricity and water shortages. As of 14 October 2016, the Directorate of Civil Protection (CPD) of Haiti had confirmed 546 deaths, 438 injuries and 128 people missing.

The scale of damage wrought by the hurricane and the resulting humanitarian needs are becoming more evident as access slowly improves and communications are gradually restored. While road access along major routes is expanding, transit remains hampered by floods, debris, and damage to infrastructure, particularly along secondary and tertiary roads. Some communities are only accessible by boat. A number of organizations have reported increased insecurity in certain areas where protests against the pace of aid delivery has accompanied ad hoc roadblocks by communities to seize supplies.

Today, more than 40 per cent of the 1.4 million people who need humanitarian assistance are children, who are mainly in the Grand’Anse and South Departments. Their needs include access to a sufficient supply of quality water, education, shelter, child protection, health and nutrition. In the affected areas where schools and hospitals have been damaged or destroyed, an estimated 1,855 houses have been flooded. Cholera continues to be a large concern and emergency interventions are complementing the existing cholera response where possible.

Exact figures of people who need assistance are expected to rise. The same is anticipated for the number of the people killed and injured, of the homes affected, schools and hospitals damaged, and the volume of crops lost. According to preliminary surveys, almost 100 per cent of crops are destroyed in Grand’Anse.