Haiti death toll rising after Hurricane Matthew

By Azadeh Ansari, CNN
Updated 5:23 PM EDT, Sat October 8, 2016
People walk through the devastated town of Jeremie on Thursday.
PHOTO: LOGAN ABASSI/AFP/Getty Images
People walk through the devastated town of Jeremie on Thursday.

Story highlights

At least 336 people have died since the storm hit

Matthew made landfall in Haiti on Tuesday as a Category 4 hurricane

(CNN) —  

Hurricane Matthew has left behind widespread destruction across Haiti and killed hundreds in its path, and officials fear the death toll could increase as aid workers reach the worst-hit areas.

PHOTO: Burke/Dreis/Global Empowerment Mission

“The death toll is rising on an hourly basis as aid workers and authorities get into these really hard-hit regions where not only communication and power were knocked out, but the roads were knocked out, so there has really been no way in,” CNN International Correspondent Shasta Darlington reported from Port-au-Prince on Saturday morning.

At least 336 people have died since Matthew made landfall in Haiti on Tuesday as a Category 4 hurricane, a spokesman for Haiti’s Civil Protection Service, Joseph Edgard Celestin, told CNN.

“Four people are missing, 211 are injured and more than 60,000 people are now displaced from the killer storm,” he said.

“We do not know the exact number; we cannot find all the people,” Haitian senator Herve Fourcand, told CNN on Saturday.

Other media outlets report much higher deaths. A count by Reuters, based on information from local civil protection officials, put the death toll well over 800.

“It’s only now that we’re beginning to really understand the extent of the devastation,” Darlington said.

A man stands in the remnants of a house destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in the southern town of Les Cayes on Monday, October 10. Matthew wreaked havoc in Haiti, killing hundreds, destroying homes and knocking out electricity in the impoverished Caribbean nation. More than 1.4 million people are in need of urgent assistance, a UN official says.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images
A man stands in the remnants of a house destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in the southern town of Les Cayes on Monday, October 10. Matthew wreaked havoc in Haiti, killing hundreds, destroying homes and knocking out electricity in the impoverished Caribbean nation. More than 1.4 million people are in need of urgent assistance, a UN official says.
Two young men who lost their homes awake from a tent in the courtyard of a school where they took shelter in Port Salut on October 10.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Rebecca Blackwell/AP
Two young men who lost their homes awake from a tent in the courtyard of a school where they took shelter in Port Salut on October 10.
A woman sits in debris where her house once stood in Les Cayes on October 10.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images
A woman sits in debris where her house once stood in Les Cayes on October 10.
A group works to clear debris from the streets in Les Anglais on October 10.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Rebecca Blackwell/AP
A group works to clear debris from the streets in Les Anglais on October 10.
A man uses salvaged material to build a makeshift roof for his damaged house in Port-a-Piment on October 10.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Rebecca Blackwell/AP
A man uses salvaged material to build a makeshift roof for his damaged house in Port-a-Piment on October 10.
People sick with cholera receive medical assistance at a hospital in Jeremie on October 10. The destruction from Matthew has accelerated the cholera epidemic in Haiti and undermined strides made in fighting the waterborne disease, the country
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Orlando Barría/EFE/EPA
People sick with cholera receive medical assistance at a hospital in Jeremie on October 10. The destruction from Matthew has accelerated the cholera epidemic in Haiti and undermined strides made in fighting the waterborne disease, the country's leader says.
People cross one of the many southern coastal rivers where bridges were knocked out or damaged near Port-a-Piment on October 10.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Rebecca Blackwell/AP
People cross one of the many southern coastal rivers where bridges were knocked out or damaged near Port-a-Piment on October 10.
People pass damaged buildings in a seaside fishing neighborhood of Port Salut on Sunday, October 9.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Rebecca Blackwell/AP
People pass damaged buildings in a seaside fishing neighborhood of Port Salut on Sunday, October 9.
People bathe and wash clothes in a river that runs through Roche-à-Bateaux on October 9. Concerns are rising in the storm
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Miami Herald/Tribune News Service/Getty Images
People bathe and wash clothes in a river that runs through Roche-à-Bateaux on October 9. Concerns are rising in the storm's aftermath about cholera, caused by the ingestion of contaminated water or food.
US soldiers unload bags of food from a helicopter in the hard-hit coastal city of Jeremie on October 9.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP
US soldiers unload bags of food from a helicopter in the hard-hit coastal city of Jeremie on October 9.
Worshippers pray at a Jeremie church destroyed by Matthew on October 9.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP
Worshippers pray at a Jeremie church destroyed by Matthew on October 9.
A cholera patient receives treatment at a state hospital in Jeremie on October 9.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP
A cholera patient receives treatment at a state hospital in Jeremie on October 9.
Family members react during the funeral of Roberto Laguerre, 32, on Saturday, October 8, in Jeremie. Laguerre was killed when the hurricane struck.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP
Family members react during the funeral of Roberto Laguerre, 32, on Saturday, October 8, in Jeremie. Laguerre was killed when the hurricane struck.
Andrenne Joseph dries her clothes near the remains of her house in Jeremie on October 8.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP
Andrenne Joseph dries her clothes near the remains of her house in Jeremie on October 8.
Residents of Jeremie wait on the shore October 8 as a boat with water and food from the "Mission of Hope" charity arrives. Jeremie appears to be the epicenter of Haiti
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP
Residents of Jeremie wait on the shore October 8 as a boat with water and food from the "Mission of Hope" charity arrives. Jeremie appears to be the epicenter of Haiti's growing humanitarian crisis in the wake of the storm.
Corn salvaged from destroyed crops dries in the sun Saturday after Hurricane Matthew swept through Jeremie.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP
Corn salvaged from destroyed crops dries in the sun Saturday after Hurricane Matthew swept through Jeremie.
People unload food and water from a "Mission of Hope" charity boat Saturday after Hurricane Matthew swept through Jeremie.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP
People unload food and water from a "Mission of Hope" charity boat Saturday after Hurricane Matthew swept through Jeremie.
An aerial view of damage to the small village of Casanette near Baumond, Haiti on Saturday. The full scale of the devastation in rural Haiti is becoming clear in the days after Hurricane Matthew leveled huge swaths of the country
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Nicolas Garcia/AFP/Getty Images
An aerial view of damage to the small village of Casanette near Baumond, Haiti on Saturday. The full scale of the devastation in rural Haiti is becoming clear in the days after Hurricane Matthew leveled huge swaths of the country's south.
Haitians gather along a flooded street in Haiti on Friday, October 7.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Burke/Dreis/Global Empowerment Mission
Haitians gather along a flooded street in Haiti on Friday, October 7.
Palm trees lie flattened on the ground after high winds knocked them over.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Burke/Dreis/Global Empowerment Mission
Palm trees lie flattened on the ground after high winds knocked them over.
Rubble lies in the street in the aftermath of the storm.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Burke/Dreis/Global Empowerment Mission
Rubble lies in the street in the aftermath of the storm.
Residents carry a coffin containing the remains of a pregnant woman, a victim of Hurricane Matthew, in Jeremie on Friday, October 7. People across southwest Haiti were digging through the wreckage of their homes Friday, salvaging what they could of their meager possessions.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP
Residents carry a coffin containing the remains of a pregnant woman, a victim of Hurricane Matthew, in Jeremie on Friday, October 7. People across southwest Haiti were digging through the wreckage of their homes Friday, salvaging what they could of their meager possessions.
An aerial view shows destruction caused by Hurricane Matthew in Jeremie, Haiti, on Friday, October 7. The damage from Hurricane Matthew was especially brutal in southern Haiti, where sustained winds of 130 mph punished the country.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: NICOLAS GARCIA/AFP/Getty Images
An aerial view shows destruction caused by Hurricane Matthew in Jeremie, Haiti, on Friday, October 7. The damage from Hurricane Matthew was especially brutal in southern Haiti, where sustained winds of 130 mph punished the country.
Damaged homes are shown on Friday, October 7, in Haiti, where the death toll is in the hundreds.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: NICOLAS GARCIA/AFP/Getty Images
Damaged homes are shown on Friday, October 7, in Haiti, where the death toll is in the hundreds.
A young man stands near the cathedral damaged by Hurricane Matthew, in Jeremie, Haiti, on October 7.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP
A young man stands near the cathedral damaged by Hurricane Matthew, in Jeremie, Haiti, on October 7.
A man dries toys recovered from the debris left by Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, on Thursday, October 6.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP
A man dries toys recovered from the debris left by Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, on Thursday, October 6.
A girl washes mud from her feet after Hurricane Matthew passed through Les Cayes, Haiti, on October 6.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP
A girl washes mud from her feet after Hurricane Matthew passed through Les Cayes, Haiti, on October 6.
Fallen trees litter the ground outside a damaged church in Les Cayes on October 6. Hundreds of people have been killed in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, officials said, with the death toll expected to rise.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP
Fallen trees litter the ground outside a damaged church in Les Cayes on October 6. Hundreds of people have been killed in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, officials said, with the death toll expected to rise.
Girls wade through a flooded street in Les Cayes on October 6.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP
Girls wade through a flooded street in Les Cayes on October 6.
Two days after the storm, authorities and aid workers in Haiti still lack a clear picture of what they fear is the country
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP
Two days after the storm, authorities and aid workers in Haiti still lack a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years.
Saint Anne Church in Les Cayes is reduced to ruins. In the wake of the storm, the Electoral Commission postponed the country
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP
Saint Anne Church in Les Cayes is reduced to ruins. In the wake of the storm, the Electoral Commission postponed the country's presidential election, which had been scheduled for Sunday.
Residents repair their homes in Les Cayes.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP
Residents repair their homes in Les Cayes.
Children sit inside a damaged church in Saint-Louis on Wednesday, October 5.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP
Children sit inside a damaged church in Saint-Louis on Wednesday, October 5.
Men push a motorbike through a flooded street in Leogane on October 5. More than 300,000 people are in shelters across the country, the United Nations said.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP
Men push a motorbike through a flooded street in Leogane on October 5. More than 300,000 people are in shelters across the country, the United Nations said.
A man carries a woman across a river at Petit Goave on October 5. A bridge collapsed because of the storm.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images
A man carries a woman across a river at Petit Goave on October 5. A bridge collapsed because of the storm.
A woman cleans her flooded home following the overflowing of La Rouyonne River on October 5 in Leogane. Residents could face risks from standing water. Haiti is still recovering from a cholera outbreak after the devastating 2010 earthquake.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images
A woman cleans her flooded home following the overflowing of La Rouyonne River on October 5 in Leogane. Residents could face risks from standing water. Haiti is still recovering from a cholera outbreak after the devastating 2010 earthquake.
Nice Simon, the mayor of Tabarre, holds a baby on October 3, as she helps evacuate the area along a river.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
PHOTO: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP
Nice Simon, the mayor of Tabarre, holds a baby on October 3, as she helps evacuate the area along a river.

Matthew struck the southwestern peninsula with winds of 125 mph (200 kph) and heavy rains that flattened homes, flooded villages, razed crops, swept away cattle and cut off the parts of the island.

The U.S. State Department warned citizen travelers of “serious problems concerning emergency response/medical care infrastructure and crime in Haiti,” in a statement released Friday.

PHOTO: Burke/Dreis/Global Empowerment Mission

Worse still, there are warnings the aftermath could worsen the nation’s cholera epidemic, which killed at least 10,000 people after the 2010 earthquake.

“Cholera is the biggest problem right now,” Fourcand said. “We need clean water. The water here is so dirty.”

An estimated 500,000 children live in the areas in the southern region most affected by Hurricane Matthew, UNICEF said in a statement. Agency representative Marc Vincent, who is in Haiti, said they are “still far from having a full picture of the extent of the damage” and “are hoping for the best, but bracing for the worst.”

PHOTO: Courtesy St. Boniface Hospital

UN officials said the hurricane is the country’s worst humanitarian crisis since the devastating 2010 earthquake.

“The focus right now is getting aid to these people who were affected. So they have to get in clean water, they have to get in food and shelter,” Darlington said.

CNN’s Natalie Gallon and Radina Gigova contributed to this report.