page_title: Effects of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti
section_title: Effects by region
hierarchical_section_title: Effects of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti / Impacts / Effects by region
caption_attribution_description: English: Damage in the city of Moron, Haiti, following Hurricane Matthew
context_page_description: Hurricane Matthew struck southwestern Haiti near Les Anglais on October 4, 2016, leaving widespread damage in the impoverished nation. Matthew was a late-season Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale, having formed in the southeastern Caribbean on September 28. The hurricane weakened to Category 4 before making landfall near Les Anglais on October 4, at which time the National Hurricane Center estimated maximum sustained winds of 240 km/h. This made it the strongest storm to hit the nation since Hurricane Cleo in 1964, and the third strongest Haitian landfall on record. Hurricane-force winds – 119 km/h or greater – affected about 1.125 million people in the country. The Haitian government assessed the death toll at 546, although other sources reported more than three times that figure.
  During Matthew's passage, high winds, heavy rainfall, and deadly tides lashed the Tiburon Peninsula in southwest Haiti. Nationwide, the hurricane nearly or completely destroyed around 200,000 homes, leaving 1.4 million people in need of humanitarian aid. Monetary damage was estimated at US$2.8 billion.
context_section_description: Grand'Anse bore the brunt of Hurricane Matthew, becoming isolated after communications networks were cut. Throughout the department, the hurricane destroyed or severely damaged 86,223 houses, which displaced about 99,400 families. Almost every tree in Grand'Anse was knocked down, while nearly all rivers were flooded. Nearly all of the crops in the department were destroyed, and about half of all livestock were killed. In Jérémie, the capital of the department, the strong winds ripped off nearly every roof, damaging 13,753 buildings. The hurricane decimated every building not made of concrete, including 90% of houses, and 80% of all structures. Floods in Jérémie inundated an orphanage, forcing 123 children to be evacuated,  and 141 roads were damaged.
  In Sud, Hurricane Matthew severely damaged 15 of the 18 communes. The storm destroyed 95% of all shelters and at least 29,000 homes, along with most ports and fishing equipment. Damage was most significant in Les Cayes, capital of Sud. Ten hours of high wind gusts destroyed the roofs of most houses, shops, and service stations, including the main cathedral, injuring over 3,000 people. About 70–80% of the houses in the city lost their roof or were flooded, of which around 20% had collapsed walls. Several businesses were washed away in Les Cayes. Île-à-Vache, an island adjacent to Les Cayes, reported floods up to 4 ft (1.2 m) deep. Livestock were killed when farms "disappeared", according to a member of Heifer International. All crops in the city were damaged, and over 90% of the crops wrecked throughout the department.
  Significant damage to crops, fisheries, and livestock occurred in Nippes, Ouest, Sud-Est, Artibonite, and Nord-Ouest departments. High damage in Nippes left half of the population in need of humanitarian aid. In Grand-Goâve toward the eastern end of the Tiburon Peninsula, Matthew damaged or destroyed 500 houses, killing seven in the city. The road to Jacmel along the southeastern coast of Haiti was damaged, and many houses in the city were damaged. In Belle-Anse, located in the same department as Jacmel, Matthew destroyed about 80% of the crops. After the water flow increased at the Péligre Dam in Centre department, residents downstream were warned for potentially further flooding. In Gressier, the hurricane wrecked about 80% of agriculture plantations. Several neighborhoods around Port-au-Prince lost power and were flooded during the storm due to the rising levels of the Rivière Grise; a bridge along the river was closed due to floodwaters. Also in the city, the hurricane damaged or destroyed 352 shelters or tents for 14 camps of internally displaced people, along with 279 latrines. In Artibonite, Matthew flooded 1,350 houses and left 123,000 people without a source of food. The storm also destroyed about 60% of the crops in Nord-Ouest. On the offshore Gonâve Island, Matthew's strong winds destroyed the roofs of hundreds of homes and much of the island's roads and crops.
caption: Poorly constructed homes failed to withstand hurricane-force winds. Countless corrugated tin roofs fell victim to the storm.
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