Haitian Americans in Brooklyn prepare to aid countrymen as Hurricane Matthew hits the island
Borough-based group sets up emergency shelter as category 4 storm bears down on vulnerable Western Haiti
As Hurricane Matthew deluged western Haiti with torrential rains and winds of nearly 150 miles per hour Monday, countrymen here in Brooklyn mobilized to help them survive the storm.
Forecasters predicted that Matthew could inundate Haiti with as much as 40 inches of rain, sparking fears that massive floods and mudslides that can’t be stopped by the island’s thin forests could obliterate entire villages that consist mostly of flimsy wood houses with corrugated tin roofs.
Despite authorities’ door-to-door efforts to warn residents about the dangers of the approaching Category 4 storm and offer them shelters in churches and schools, many residents in Haiti initially resisted government warnings to evacuate their homes. But that didn’t stop concerned organizations like the Haitian American Caucus from scrambling to set up safe havens for them.