Hurricane Matthew death toll climbs to 473 in southern Haiti

TIL Desk/World/ Port-Au-Prince-At least 473 people are now known to have died as Hurricane Matthew leveled swaths of southern Haiti last week, officials said, as hard-hit communities struggled to rebuild homes and access food and clean water. Haiti is observing three days of mourning for victims of the deadly storm, which also left 75 missing and 330 injured according to the provisional toll from the nation’s civil protection agency.

More than 175,500 people remain in shelters across the country, many of them in schools — which is keeping nearly 100,000 children from resuming classes. Interim President Jocelerme Privert said those affected would receive humanitarian aid but warned against extending emergency help without a plan for long-term reconstruction.

“If we continue to bring emergency food aid to victims — without taking steps to recapitalize them, for money to circulate in affected areas — the risk of exodus to large cities is still there,” Privert told journalists. Privert said the Haitian government has sent 40 containers of food aid to affected regions, which he said cost the treasury more than 400,000.