Hurricane Matthew death toll spikes to 339 in Haiti after ‘several dozen’ killed in coastal town

Hurricane Matthew has killed at least 339 people in Haiti, including dozens in one coastal town that authorities and rescue workers were only beginning to reach days after the storm, officials said on Thursday.

The Interior Ministry, a mayor and other local officials confirmed the numbers across Haiti, with many victims killed by falling trees, flying debris and swollen rivers when Matthew hit with 230km/h winds on Tuesday.

Most of the fatalities were in towns and fishing villages around the western end of Tiburon peninsula in the country’s southwest, one of Haiti’s most picturesque regions. The storm passed directly through the peninsula, driving the sea inland and flattening homes on Monday and Tuesday.

“Several dozen” died in the coastal town of Les Anglais in Sud Department, said Louis Paul Raphael, the central government’s representative in the region.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Raphael.

Les Anglais was the first to be hit by Matthew and has been out of contact since then. Just before the storm hit, the mayor said people were fleeing their houses in panic as the sea surged into town.