The U.S. military is dispatching troops and equipment for a humanitarian aid mission to Haiti as Hurricane Matthew hits the impoverished Caribbean island on Tuesday.
The aircraft carrier George Washington and amphibious transport dock Mesa Verde, which carry Navy and Marine helicopters, are preparing to leave Norfolk, Va., to support the country, reported Navy Times. The hospital ship Comfort is also expected to join the relief effort. The government of Cuba has also requested significant U.S. support and United States Agency for International Development has activated its disaster response team to help.
Hurricane Matthew is the strongest in the region in a decade and seven people have already died, the Associated Press reported. The last major humanitarian mission to the island nation led by the U.S. military was in response to the 2010 earthquake that killed hundreds of thousands of Haitians. Ultimately, the American military provided 22,000 troops, 30 Navy and Coast Guard ships,and 300 aircraft to help the island rebuild.
“It’s much too early to know how bad things are but we do know there are a lot of houses that have been destroyed or damaged in the south,” director of Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste told the Associated Press Tuesday.
The category 4 hurricane hit Haiti’s southwestern coast early Tuesday morning with 145 mph winds and moved quickly to the north of the island. It is expected to move to eastern Cuba by the afternoon before reaching the east coast of the United States.
The Department of Defense began its preparation for the storm this weekend, evacuating 700 Navy service members and their families from Guantanamo Bay, but approximately 5,000 troops remain.
U.S. Southern Command said the same day that approximately 100 troops and nine helicopters are being sent to Grand Cayman Island to provide support for the Caribbean region, Stars and Stripes reported. Southern Command is working with embassies to determine what help is needed and the USAID will determine if and where troops will distribute lifesaving aid and ferry government personnel.
