World News for Students of English

10-10-2016 07:00

Hundreds died and thousands are homeless in Haiti in the destruction caused by Hurricane Matthew. The storm completely levelled parts of southwest Haiti as it tore through the area last week.

The death toll in the country, as a result of the most powerful Caribbean storm in a decade, has soared to more than 300, and many more people who lost everything are lucky to be alive. Most of the deaths were in towns and fishing villages around the southern coast, with many killed by falling trees, flying debris, and swollen rivers.

With many hospitals having no power and being short on supplies, Haiti is struggling to care for some of its sick and those injured in the hurricane. Non-governmental organisations say that phone coverage and electricity are down and people are running out of food and water.

Difficult words: death toll (the number of dead people), soar (rise rapidly), debris (pieces of broken things), swollen river (a river with more water than normal because of heavy rain), struggle (try hard).

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