Hurricane Matthew live: Horror storm kills 842 after battering Haiti and US with 100mph winds ripping through Florida
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Updated 18:50, 7 Oct 2016
The United States
is braced as the first Atlantic hurricane to hit since 2007 brings tornadoes
and a 12ft storm surge.
More than three
million people have been evacuated from Florida ,
Georgia , North and South Carolina as Hurricane Matthew
hits.
The biggest
storm in a century is set to hit around 26 million people with President Obama
declaring a state of emergency and mobilising thousands of National Guard
troops.
At least 842
people have already been killed as Matthew swept through Haiti , Jamaica ,
the Dominican Republic and
the Bahamas .
At least 175
people died in villages clustered among the hills and coast of Haiti ’s western
tip.
At least three
towns reported dozens of fatalities, including the farming village of Chantal
“A tree fell on
the house and flattened it, the entire house fell on us. I couldn’t get out,”
said driver Jean-Pierre, 27, who had been married for only a year.
“People came to
lift the rubble, and then we saw my wife who had died in the same spot,”
Jean-Donald said, his young daughter by his side, crying “Mommy.”
US Navy heads to
Haiti
The USS Mesa
Verde, a US Navy amphibious transport dock ship, is steaming toward Haiti to support relief efforts after Hurricane
Matthew killed more than 500 people and left thousands homeless in the Caribbean country.
A Navy
spokesman said the ship would bring a large set of capabilities, including
three CH-53 heavy lift helicopters, bulldozers and fresh water delivery
vehicles.
The ship can
produce 72,000 gallons of fresh potable water per day and is stocked with
pallets of food, medicine, baby formula, diapers, first aid supplies and other
key items.
The ship has a
surgical team which can work out of two operating rooms on board.
Death toll rises to
842
The death toll
has now risen to 842, according to reports.
It is reported
that the deaths count the lives lost in Haiti
and the United States .
President Obama
has signed a state of emergency for Georgia ,
Florida and South
Carolina mobilising thousands of National Guard troops as the
storm hits the Florida
coastline.
Oil and gasoline
terminals shut
Most oil and
gasoline terminals along the south eastern coast in the United States
have been shut as a result of Hurricane Matthew.
Those terminals
will be key for bringing fuel to retail gasoline stations shuttered by the
storm once the hurricane passes.
Gasoline
distributors across Florida
are scrambling to supply crews working to restore power to areas hit by the
hurricane.
'This is still a
really dangerous hurricane'
Here’s more
from Obama as he addressed reporters earlier today...
I just
want to emphasise to everybody that this is still a really dangerous hurricane,
that the potential for storm surge, loss of life and severe property damage
exists and people continue to need to follow the instructions of their local
officials over the next 24, 48, 72 hours.
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