Pray for Haiti and millions affected by hurricane Matthew

Hurricane Matthew: Death toll soars in Haiti

Number of dead in Caribbean nation rises sharply as Hurricane Matthew leaves behind trail of destruction.

The number of people killed in Haiti by Hurricane Matthew has risen sharply, with coastal villages and towns beginning to make contact with the outside world, three days after being hit by the fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade.

A Reuters news agency tally of deaths reported by civil protection officials at a local level on Friday showed the storm killed at least 877 people. 

Rural clinics overflowed with patients whose wounds including broken bones had not been treated since the storm hit on Tuesday.

Food was scarce, and at least seven people died of cholera, likely because of flood water mixing with sewage.

Bodies started to appear late on Thursday as waters receded in some places after Matthew's 235km per hour (kph) winds smashed concrete walls, flattened palm trees and tore roofs off homes, forcing thousands of Haitians to flee.

With casualty numbers quickly increasing, different government agencies and committees gave contrasting death tolls on Friday as the storm hit the US state of Florida
 and began rolling up the east coast.

Most of the fatalities were in towns and fishing villages around the western end of Tiburon peninsula in Haiti's southwest, with many victims killed by falling trees, flying debris and swollen rivers.

At least 50 people were reported to have died in coastal Roche-a-Bateau, which local officials described as "devastated".

"I've never seen anything like this," Louis Paul Raphael, a central government representative in Roche-a-Bateau, told Reuters.

Inland in Chantal, the toll rose to 90 late on Thursday evening, the town's mayor said.                                                                                                                                         

Hurricane Matthew Batters Southeast Coast; 6 Dead as Over 1.4 Million Lose Power

Hurricane Matthew slammed the shore near the border of Georgia and South Carolina early Saturday, bringing torrential rain, powerful winds, a storm surge and the potential for catastrophic flooding to two more states after devastating Florida where 1 million people lost power and six died.

As of 8 a.m. ET Saturday, the National Hurricane Center had downgraded Matthew to a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, down from 105 mph. Although the storm has weakened substantially, the hurricane center still warned of "strong winds and dangerous storm surge" along South Carolina's coast as well as "heavy rains and gusty winds spreading inland."

The National Weather Service also posted a new tornado watch for parts of northeast South Carolina and eastern North Carolina until 4 p.m. ET Saturday.

Hurricane Matthew is moving toward the northeast at 12 mph with the eye of the storm just off South Carolina's coastline.

"On the forecast track, the center of Matthew will continue to move near or over the coast of South Carolina today, and be near the coast of southern North Carolina by tonight," the National Hurricane Center said in its 8 a.m. ET advisory on Saturday.

Hurricane-force winds lashed Tybee Island off the coast of Georgia and Hilton Head just over the border in South Carolina, and tide levels reached a record of over 12 feet at the mouth of the Savannah River, which borders both southeast states.

Nearly 17 inches of rain were recorded at Hunter U.S. Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, over a 48-hour period, according to the National Weather Service.

More than 300,000 people were in the dark in Georgia and 178,000 in South Carolina on Saturday morning. Floodwaters, downed trees and debris clogged roads in much of Matthew's storm path across three states, rendering parts of Interstate 95 in South Carolina impassable early Saturday.

Six people have died in Florida from the storm.

The hurricane also claimed hundreds of lives as it tore through Haiti and other Caribbean nations.

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Father, 
all the elements of nature obey your command. 
Calm the storms and hurricanes that threaten us
and turn our fear of your power into praise of your goodness.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, 
one God, forever and ever. 

Amen.