Vatican City, Oct 14, 2016 / 04:55 am
Pope Francis has decided to send an initial contribution of $100,000 to Haiti to help with emergency recovery in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, the Vatican announced Friday.
Donated through the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, the money will be used to support flood victims, and "is intended as a first and immediate concrete expression of the feelings of paternal spiritual closeness and encouragement of the Holy Father toward the people and territories affected," an Oct. 14 communique from the Vatican read.
Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti in the morning on Oct. 4. A category four storm with winds racing at 145mph, it is the most powerful Caribbean storm in a decade, devastating Haiti, which is still reeling from the catastrophic earthquake that crushed much of the country in 2010.
With more than 1,000 dead and hundreds of thousands displaced, according to the BBC, Haiti was hardest hit in the southeast, with many in towns and fishing villages killed by debris, falling trees and swollen rivers.