“Yes, this is yet another Haitian town destroyed. It seemed like there was even less aid here. The town looked like it had been quite prosperous with cobblestone streets. Damage along the coastline was very severe. Either the houses were washed away or blown apart from the hurricane,” says Matt Giesbrecht, RN, assessing the damage to Haiti in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. Striking Haiti on October 3-4, Matthew brought catastrophic flooding, 40 inches of rain, and storm surge of up to 10 feet over sea level. Early estimates include at least 1,300 people dead and greater than 35,000 left homeless.
I first met Matt Giesbrecht as he was preparing to move to Haiti for a multi-year assignment. Part of his preparation was the INMED International Medicine & Public Health Hybrid Course, which included timely content on disaster management and health leadership. Matt continues, “We decided to bring a mobile clinic to the area where the hurricane damage was the most severe. We wrapped up the mobile clinic this afternoon after seeing 500 patients this week. We are really exhausted, but it has been a success. Please pray for the work here.”