Haiti death toll jumps as receding waters reveal more bodies
LES CAYES, Haiti — Haiti’s death toll jumped late Thursday after rescue crews began reaching remote corners cut off when Hurricane Matthew slammed into the country’s southwest peninsula, the first Category 4 storm to hit Haiti in more than a half century.
At least 283 people died in just one part of Haiti’s southwest, the region that bore the brunt of the storm, Emmanuel Pierre, an Interior Ministry co-ordinator in Les Cayes, told The Associated Press.
The overall death toll in Haiti is not clear. Shortly before Pierre spoke, the headquarters for Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency had put the number of confirmed deaths for the whole country at 122.
Authorities expect the number of deaths to rise, with mayors and other local officials in marooned areas reporting higher numbers. Most deaths are thought to have occurred in the southwest region.