More help is on the way for Haiti, where the amphibious transport dock Mesa Verde is expected to arrive on Sunday, according to U.S. Southern Command.
About 300 Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit are embarked on the ship along with three CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters, said SOUTHCOM spokesman Jose Ruiz. Military Sealift Command’s joint high-speed vessel Spearhead also is en route to the ravaged island nation, he said.
The contingent of Marines aboard the Mesa Verde includes engineers specifically for humanitarian assistance disaster relief missions, said Marine Corps spokesman Maj. Clark Carpenter.
As of Friday, the death toll in Haiti was more than 800 after Hurricane Matthew tore through the country on Tuesday as a Category 4 storm, with winds of up to 145 miles per hour. The heavy rains have fouled drinking water with human waste, raising fears of a massive cholera outbreak.
Marines and sailors with the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Southern Command began arriving in Port-au-Prince on Wednesday, said task force commander Col. Thomas Prentice.
Marines and sailors were expected to begin delivering food, hygiene kits, plastic sheets and other badly needed supplies to Haitians on Friday, Prentice told Marine Corps Times.
“The scope of the devastation is tragic,” Prentice said. “Flying over the affected areas, there are tens of thousands of families that have been affected. It’s truly a tragic situation.”
