HIGHLIGHTS
– Hurricane Matthew causes extensive damage across the central Caribbean
– USAID’s DART conducts aerial assessments, delivers first tranche of pre-positioned relief items to isolated communities in Haiti
– USAID/OFDA is airlifting additional emergency relief commodities to Haiti and The Bahamas
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
– Hurricane Matthew made an initial landfall near Haiti’s Les Anglais commune, Sud Department, on October 4, before making a secondary landfall over eastern Cuba on October 4 and continuing across The Bahamas from October 5–6. The storm brought destructive winds, heavy rainfall, and dangerous storm surge, resulting in widespread flooding in some areas and extensive damage to crops, houses, and infrastructure. The storm also passed near the eastern coast of Jamaica, resulting in minor impacts in eastern parishes.
– On October 6, the Government of Haiti (GoH) Directorate of Civil Protection (DPC) reported that Hurricane Matthew had resulted in more than 270 fatalities and temporarily displaced approximately 61,500 people to emergency evacuation shelters countrywide. Authorities caution that these figures are expected to change as relief actors continue to access worst-affected areas. Assessments of Hurricane Matthew’s impact elsewhere in the central Caribbean, including in The Bahamas, remain ongoing.
– On October 5, U.S. Southern Command stood up Joint Task Force (JTF) Matthew to support humanitarian operations related to the hurricane response in Haiti and Jamaica. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) will support humanitarian logistics and transportation, facilitate airfield and port assessments, and assist airfield operations to ensure the rapid delivery of relief commodities to hurricane-affected populations in Haiti.
– With DoD support, the DART coordinated an initial delivery of pre-positioned relief commodities to Haiti’s hard-hit communities of Jeremie and Les Cayes, located in Grand’Anse and Sud departments, respectively, on October 7.
– As of October 7, USAID had contributed an initial $1.5 million for immediate relief efforts in the central Caribbean. USAID funding is supporting the distribution of critical food assistance, including cash transfers, food vouchers, and rations, as well as shelter materials and other relief items to hurricane-affected communities in Haiti, Jamaica, and The Bahamas.