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Hurricane Matthew: Scenes of destruction in Haiti

At least 26 people killed, including 22 in Haiti, as powerful hurricane lashes Caribbean on the path to the US.

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Hurricane Matthew
People walk down the streets next to destroyed houses in Jeremie, Haiti. [Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters]
Published On 6 Oct 2016

Hurricane Matthew has left a trail of devastation in the Caribbean, particularly in Haiti, where thousands of homes have been flattened and at least 22 people killed.

Some 80 percent of homes were damaged in Haiti’s Sud Department, which has a population of more than 700,000, a government official said in a meeting with UN officials. Some 11,000 people were in shelters in the province.

The powerful hurricane, the fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade, lashed Cuba, Haiti and Dominican Republic, where at least four people were killed.

The storm made a landfall in Bahamas on Wednesday and is now headed towards the US southeast coast.

In the United States, more than 1.5 million people were urged to evacuate the southeastern coast and Florida Governor Rick Scott warned residents to prepare for a possible direct hit.

Hurricane Matthew
Matthew was downgraded early on Wednesday from a Category 4 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity, the US National Hurricane Centre said. [Andres Martinez Casares/Reuters]
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Hurricane Matthew
A flooded river is seen in Jeremie. [Carlos Garcia Rawlins /Reuters]
Hurricane Matthew
Residents head to a shelter in Leogane, Haiti. Hurricane Matthew slammed into Haiti's southwestern tip howling with 230kph winds on Tuesday, tearing off roofs in the poor and largely rural area, uprooting trees and leaving rivers bloated and choked with debris. [Dieu Nalio Chery/AP]
Hurricane Matthew
Women cook their meals in a partially destroyed school used as a shelter in Jeremie, in the Grand'Anse department of `Haiti. [Carlos Garcia Rawlins /Reuters]
Hurricane Matthew
UN representatives say this is the worst natural disaster to hit Haiti since the devastating earthquake of 2010. [Orlando Barria/EPA]
Hurricane Matthew
A group of people try to cross the river La Digue, after the collapse of the only bridge in Petit Goave, Haiti. [Orlando Barria /EPA]
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Hurricane Matthew
Residents in Haiti's Les Cayes try to salvage their belongings following the devastation caused by the Hurricane Matthew. [Andres Martinez Casares/Reuters]
Hurricane Matthew
A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the Haitian government estimated 350,000 people needed immediate assistance. [Dieu Nalio Chery/AP]
Hurricane Matthew
After moving past Haiti, Hurricane Matthew rolled across a corner of Cuba and began pounding the southern Bahamas with heavy wind and rain. [Orlando Barria/EPA]