PORT-AU-PRINCE, Oct 29 (APP/AFP) – Hurricane Matthew’s devastating passage over southern Haiti on October 4 caused nearly $2 billion in damages, Haitian authorities announced Friday. Studies by the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) put the estimated cost of damage and economic losses at 124 billion Haitian gourdes ($1.89 billion), officials with the Ministry of Economy and Finance told a news conference. The storm, which killed 546 people according to official figures, battered an already fragile economy — one of the poorest in the world — with losses representing roughly one-fifth of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the officials said. The southern region of Haiti, considered the country’s breadbasket, was particularly hard hit by winds of 150 miles per hour (250 kilometers per hour) and torrential rains.
International News
Hurricane Matthew damages in Haiti tally nearly $2 bn
