Emergency Response to Hurricane Matthew

Hurricane Matthew, the most powerful Caribbean tropical storm in nearly a decade, made landfall in Haiti the morning of October 4 with catastrophic force, making life-threatening flash floods and mudslides likely, and causing storm surges of up to 10 feet. Still a very dangerous Category 4 storm, it is now headed towards the Bahamas. This devastating storm will likely leave thousands in need of assistance, including access to clean water and proper sanitation to help prevent the outbreak of disease.

Our team in Haiti stands ready to respond, with more emergency experts being mobilized. Additional emergency response staff are now en route to the Bahamas so they can immediately assess and respond to the most urgent needs after the storm passes there. We know the needs in the aftermath of this storm will be significant. Many survivors will lose everything and will need basic necessities like clean water, food and medical care, and with flooding anticipated, the extent of damage to the health infrastructure could be significant.

In Haiti, our teams have been fighting a cholera outbreak that began after the 2010 earthquake, and could severely worsen due to heavy rains and flooding. If the proper sanitation and hygiene services are not put in place right away, a large-scale outbreak of disease could take more lives than the storm.

Thank you, and thank you to the GlobalGiving community, for your support as we prepare to provide emergency assistance and help communities recover and rebuild. We will continue to keep you updated on the impact of Hurricane Matthew.