AID: Washington also sent a military transport ship to haiti, with 300 soldiers on board Marine …
France will send to Haiti, hit by the hurricane Matthew, “60 military civil security”, “32 tons of equipment, including two water purification stations” as well as two senior officers of firefighters, the Elysee announced on Friday.
“The head of state wished that France is mobilizing all available resources to implement quickly, in coordination with our European partners and the international community for emergency assistance,” assured the Presidency of the Republic a statement.
She said the day after the hurricane rated a category 4 (on a scale of 5) in the country on October 5th, “a Falcon 50 from the armed forces in Martinique has conducted reconnaissance flights to assess the damage caused by the weather, “at the request of the Haitian authorities.
Washington sent 300 Marines
“The most urgent now is to provide drinking water to the population and prevent health risks,” the source said, announcing that “a plane will be chartered to transport 60 military civil security, and 32 tons of equipment, including two water purification plant equipment, medical kits, humanitarian and first-aid equipment. ”
Cyclone #Matthew : le centre de crise et de soutien du Ministère renforce son aide humanitaire https://t.co/0L4GJSasNJ #Haïti pic.twitter.com/tdzNyUhcNZ
— France Diplomatie (@francediplo) October 7, 2016
“Moreover, two senior officers of French firefighters visit today to the Port-au-Prince to support the Haitian authorities,” it added. The United States sent on Friday a military transport ship USS Mesa Verde with 300 Marines on board to participate in the relief operations in Haiti following the passage of Hurricane Matthew, according to US defense officials.
This vessel will strengthen the assistance from the US military, which has already 250 men and 9 helicopters deployed on the island, according to SOUTHCOM, the US military command for the South American area.
Two other US military ships are already at sea and ready to be deployed if necessary, the aircraft carrier USS George Washington and the hospital ship USNS Comfort.
Uncertain and partial results
Friday morning, local authorities were documenting at least 842 dead after the passage of hurricane Matthew, according to Reuters, the remaining provisional balance sheet because some areas were still not accessible after three days.
More than 29,000 houses were destroyed just in the south. Some 80% of Jeremiah buildings, capital of southern Grand’Anse department with about 30,000 inhabitants, were razed, according to Jean-Michel Vigreux, director of the NGO Care Haiti.
In addition, the roof of the Cathedral of Les Cayes, third largest city located on the coast in the southwest, has been completely washed away. His Cross Walk district Earth is devastated and banana plantations and mango trees of the plain are totally devastated.
More than 21,000 people have been evacuated and 350,000 in need of assistance, according to the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the UN. With floods, authorities fear an upsurge in cholera cases.
