Disasters & Conflicts: Haïti. Hurricane Matthew. 2016

Country: Haiti
Period: October 4, 2016
Disaster: Especially coastal towns in the southwest of the country are hit hard by Matthew, who races with winds of about 230 kilometers per hour on Haiti.
Estimated number of victims: more than 1,000 dead and an unknown number wounded. With 1.4 million people who are in need of help.

The destruction by hurricane Matthew is huge. Some towns and cities have been completely destroyed. The electricity is out, phone traffic is not possible. Tens of thousands of people became homeless. Because a large area is under water and clean drinking water is not available, cholera broke out. This highly contagious disease is spreading rapidly in Haiti and is expected to cause many more deaths. The UN says more than 100 million euro is needed to help all the victims.

Aid started slowly after a few days. Dutch aid organizations such as Red Cross, Cordaid, ICCO Kerk in Actie, Oxfam Novib, Save the Children and UNICEF raise money to provide as many Haitians with clean drinking water, food and shelter.