Responding to Hurricane Matthew in Haiti

MapAction has deployed a team to Haiti to support the response to Hurricane Matthew, the strongest storm to hit the Caribbean in almost a decade.

Hurricane Matthew struck the southwest coast of Haiti at 0700 local time on 4 October, bringing winds of up to 230km/h and torrential rain. It has since continued across to the northwest of the country. There are particular concerns for flooding and landslides, as well as the risk of cholera outbreaks.

This MapAction deployment follows a prepositioning mission to Jamaica in advance of the hurricane. In both countries our volunteers are working closely with United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination teams on the ground to access the most up-to-date, accurate data and help coordinate the response.

MapAction has past experience of working in Haiti, following the major earthquake in 2010 which claimed the lives of more than 220,000 people, and in 2008 for the impact of storms.