Haiti town 'like a wasteland' after Hurricane Matthew

In Haiti, the scale of the destruction is just beginning to sink in.

On Tuesday, Hurricane Matthew hit the island with 230 km/h winds. More than 800 people are dead.

Some communities are still cut off from the rest of the country.

This has the exact same feel as the earthquake but it feels like way less aidis getting in.- Hospital worker ConorShapiro

Now officials are worried about getting enough food and water to survivors -- and preventing the outbreak of diseases like cholera.

Conor Shapiro runs St. Boniface Hospital on Haiti's southern peninsula. Here is part of his interview withAs It Happenshost Carol Off fromone of the hard-hit areas, Les Cayes.

Carol Off: Describe what you are seeing around you at the hospital in Les Cayes.

Conor Shapiro: They have no surgical services.I see mud and rubble. I see mud to almost the windows of the surgical centre. I see a few patients milling around.That's all I see. They do not have electricity. It's like a wasteland.

CO: What do you suspect is the condition of people who need to get to that hospital? How are they living right now?

CS: We are coordinating to get out to the hardest hit areas. Believe it or not, we are now on Friday. The major hurricane hit on Tuesday. There are thousands of people that noone has heard from. There have been flyovers, but noone knows what's happened to them.They are going to struggle to have food. They are going to struggle to have any sort of medical care. I'm sure there are deaths out there that have not been reported. There's no question.

CO: And the crops have been wiped out as well?

CS: There's no question their crops have been wiped out. There is going to be a huge hunger problem going forward.
I was here during the earthquake and lived through it. This has the exact same feel as the earthquake but it feels like way less aidis getting in. We need people to understand that people down here need significant amounts of help.

CO: What is preventing the aid from arriving?

CS: I think the accessibility in getting out there. I think the people are tired of hearing about Haiti after the earthquake and feel like there is always something difficult happening here.What people need to remember is these are real people down here, who have done nothing buy try to survive off the land, and now they've been hit by this horrible hurricane.They need help.

As It Happens alsoreached Ernst Ais,mayor of Cavaillon.His community was hit hard by Hurricane Matthew, and has remained cut off since the storm:

As It Happens1:59Mayor of Cavaillon, Haiti.

Mayor of Cavaillon, Haiti.