Alwaght- The total fatalities in Haiti, by the ongoing Hurricane Matthew, reached 877 people as rescue teams are still continuing their searches.
The powerful storm also displaced thousands of people in the poorest country of the western hemisphere, before continuing on its way to hit the southeast U.S. coast and causing major flooding and widespread power outages, Reuters reported on Saturday.
Matthew smashed through Haiti's western peninsula on Tuesday with 233 kph winds and torrential rain. Some 61,500 people were in shelters, officials said, after the storm hurled the sea into fragile coastal villages, some of which were only now being contacted.
While highlighting the misery of underdevelopment in Haiti, which is still recovering from a devastating 2010 earthquake, the storm looked certain to rekindle debate about global warming and the long-term threat posed by rising sea levels to low-lying cities and towns.
At least three towns in the hills and coast of Haiti's fertile western tip reported dozens of people killed, including the farming village of Chantal where the mayor said 86 people died, mostly when trees crushed houses. He said 20 others were missing.
