In pictures: Hurricane Matthew

The path of destruction over the Caribbean and the southern US

Hurricane Matthew’s trail of destruction in Haiti stunned those emerging from the aftermath on Friday, with the number of dead soaring to 877, tens of thousands left homeless and outbreaks of cholera already claiming more lives. Information trickled in from remote areas that were cut off by the storm and it became clear that at least 175 people died in villages clustered among the hills and on the coast of Haiti’s fertile western tip.

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. The storm razed homes to their foundations. The corrugated metal roofs of those still standing were ripped off, the contents visible from above as if peering into doll’s houses.

Here we look at a series of pictures showing the aftermath of Haiti's hurricane.

Hurricane Matthew passed over Haiti with heavy rains and winds. PHOTO: AFP

Hurricane Matthew passed over Haiti with heavy rains and winds. PHOTO: AFP

Damaged houses are seen after the passing of Hurricane Matthew, in Sous Roche in Les Cayes, Southwest Haiti. PHOTO: AFP

Hurricane Matthew passed over Haiti with heavy rains and winds. PHOTO: AFP

A man boards up a jewelry store in Atlantic Beach, Florida as hurricane Matthew approaches the area. PHOTO: AFP

Heavy waves caused by Hurricane Matthew pound the boat docks at the Sunset Bar and Grill on Cocoa Beach, Florida. PHOTO: AFP

Inhabitants of Baracoa, Guantanamo province, east of Cuba clean up after hurricane Matthew passed through the place. PHOTO: AFP

A downed tree from high winds rests against a car in a residential community after Hurricane Matthew passes through in Ormond Beach, Florida. PHOTO: AFP

This NOAA-NASA Goes East project satellite image shows Hurricane Matthew alongside Florida at 1737 UTC. PHOTO: AFP

A man carries a woman across a river at Petit Goave where a bridge collapsed during the rains of the Hurricane Matthew, southwest of Port-au-Prince. PHOTO: AFP

Picture taken in the flooded neighbourhood of La Puya, in Santo Domingo after the passage of Hurricane Matthew through Hispaniola -- the island that the Dominican Republic shares with Haiti. PHOTO: AFP

Buildings destroyed and damaged by Hurricane Matthew are seen in Jeremie, in western Haiti. PHOTO: AFP

A man bikes past buildings destroyed by Hurricane Matthew are seen in Jeremie, in western Haiti. PHOTO: AFP

People drive on a flooded street in Jacksonville, Florida. PHOTO: AFP

Nick Lomasney walks through heavy wind and a flooded street as Hurricane Matthew passes through the area in St Augustine, Florida. PHOTO: AFP

A woman tries to get food at a shelter in the school Liliane Mars Dumarsais Estime after Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti. PHOTO: REUTERS

Homeowner Joe Lovece surveys the damage to the kitchen at the back of his oceanfront home after the eye of Hurricane Matthew passed Ormond Beach, Florida, US. PHOTO: REUTERS

People walk under a broken Kentucky Fried Chicken sign that blew over in Hurricane Matthew in Nassau, Bahamas. PHOTO: REUTERS

People walk on a street next to destroyed houses after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie, Haiti. PHOTO: REUTERS

Parts of the exterior wall of the oceanfront Hilton Daytona Beach Resort wall falls off as the eye of Hurricane Matthew passes Daytona Beach. PHOTO: REUTERS

A girl walks out of her house destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in the outskirts of Port Salut. PHOTO: REUTERS

People try to rebuild their destroyed houses after Hurricane Matthew passes Jeremie. PHOTO: REUTERS

Destroyed desks are seen in a school in Jeremie. PHOTO: REUTERS

A girl cries as she stays with her relatives at a partially destroyed school in Jeremie. PHOTO: REUTERS

A television lies on debris after Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti. PHOTO: REUTERS