As the powerful Hurricane Matthew begins its turn toward South Florida and the South Atlantic Coast, President Barack Obama is asking Americans to also think about those who have already been “hammered” by its wrath.
As if Haiti hasn’t suffered enough in recent years, Hurricane Matthew has inflicted its worst damage so far on the fragile nation. More than 100 people have been killed in Haiti because of the Category 3 storm with more than 120 mph winds. The death toll is expected to rise as rescue workers have struggled to reach towns cut off by the destruction.
“Haiti is facing the largest humanitarian event witnessed since the earthquake six years ago,” Mourad Wahba, the U.N. secretary general’s deputy special representative for Haiti, said in a statement.
Haiti is still recovering from the massive 2010 earthquake that killed as many as 200,000 people and post-quake cholera outbreak that killed 10,000 people.
After meeting Wednesday with representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, the National Guard and others about the hurricane, Obama said he expected Haiti would need “substantial help.”
You can help make life a little bit easier for people who didn’t have a lot to begin with.
President Barack Obama
Those willing to assist could visit the Center for International Disaster Information for details, Obama said.
“You can help make life a little bit easier for people who didn’t have a lot to begin with and now are really getting hammered by this storm,” Obama said.
Email: fordonez@mcclatchydc.com; Twitter: @francoordonez.