At least 842 people in Haiti have died as a result of Hurricane Matthew, according to a Reuters analysis released Friday afternoon, just as the storm had passed over Florida’s eastern coast and parts of the Caribbean nation dug out from the historic storm.
Tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed on the western side of the island, shared with the Dominican Republic. In addition, outbreaks of cholera have killed seven people. The illness came to the island following the 2010 earthquake when United Nations aid workers introduced it to the country.
“Due to massive flooding and its impact on water and sanitation infrastructure, cholera cases are expected to surge after Hurricane Matthew and through the normal rainy season until the start of 2017,” the Pan American Health Organization said in a press release Friday.
On Wednesday night, 22 people were reported dead by the Civil Protection Force of Haiti, but the death toll has increased dramatically since then and is expected to continue growing as 10.3 million people dig out from the storm.
The Category 4 hurricane was the most severe storm the Caribbean has seen in nearly a decade. An estimated 80 percent of homes in Jeremie, a major city on the island, have been leveled.
