Hurricane Mathew killed over 1,000 people in Haiti - WHO

Hurricane Matthew has now over 1,000 people in the Caribbean island of Haiti, and 1.4 million people are in need of emergency huminatarian aid according to World Health Organisation (WHO).

It’s not just killed hundreds, destroyed homes and ruined livelihoods. The disaster has also contaminated water sources, bringing about an outbreak of the deadly disease cholera.

Torrential rain and 145mph winds brought Haiti to its knees last week and sparked a humanitarian disaster.

The United Nations has launched a $120 million (£97.5 million) flash appeal to the international community to cover Haiti’s needs over three months.

Hurricane victims say don’t give money to American Red Cross UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: ‘A massive response is required.’ Animals have been killed along with crops and food reserves, and 300 schools have been damaged in the poor Caribbean nation.

Hospitals and local communities are in desperate need of supplies, but the hurricane ripped through Haiti’s roads and communications systems, delaying the aid.

The bodies of the dead are being buried in mass graves because they are starting to decompose, said Kedner Frenel, the most senior central government official in the Grand’Anse region. He said authorities were left with no other option.

In Grand’Anse, 522 people were killed, with 480 known victims across the rest of the island, Frenel said. The tropical storm has led to mass contamination of water sources and an outbreak of cholera, which causes severe diarrhoea and can kill within hours without treatment.

At least 200 people have been diagnosed and there is great concern about the disease spreading.

Dominique Legros, World Health Organisation (WHO) cholera expert, said: ‘It is more than usual, I know it is a sharp increase compared to usual figures.’

Authorities are focused on getting water, food and medication to the thousands of people living in shelters. An open-air cholera treatment centre at a hospital had at least a dozen new patients aged under 10 – and the centre had no running water.