After Hurricane Matthew, Haitians seek family at any cost

A minivan plowed into a river-swamped road under the anxious gaze of bystanders keeping their distance.

It was just one instance in which Haitians braved danger to try to reunite with their families after Hurricane Matthew.

At Leogane, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the capital Port-au-Prince, all rivers have breached their banks.

Still, people are pushing across them to get to the southern tip of the impoverished country, the area hit hardest by the Caribbean's worst storm in nearly a decade.

Matthew made landfall on the southern coast of Haiti shortly after daybreak Tuesday as an "extremely dangerous" Category Four storm on a scale of one to five.George Irel, whose family lives in the city of Les Cayes on the southern coast, was set to go.

"Even before the real arrival of the storm there, I saw the situation there was already terrible and so I was waiting for things to calm down before rejoining them," he said.

Pausing as a strong current churned the floodwaters, the 19-year-old is reassured because he knows they are alive.

"I couldn't reach them by telephone throughout the hurricane, but connections are back up since this morning," Irel said.

"I was so happy, I can't even explain, when I heard the voices of my mother and my father," he said, his eyes brimming with tears.But this first flooded river is just one of many obstacles separating him from his relatives. Twenty kilometers away, a key bridge collapsed Monday and the raging waters around it are impassable by vehicle.

In Leogane, a Brazilian unit of UN peacekeepers are powerless to stop Haitians wanting to continue their trip south at any cost.

- Advice not taken -

Wading through water up to his shoulders, Sam Jean Paul, 30, barely crossed the torrent on foot, using a tree branch to brace each step.

"I'm determined because I want to go to see some people, some relatives in the city to learn what's happening," he explained.On Wednesday afternoon, the Haitian authorities lifted the red alert launched Sunday as the powerful hurricane approached.

But civil protection officials were still warning about the high risks of flooding and mudslides. Radio programs regularly broadcast advice, including which precautions to take after a hurricane.

But Paul is beyond listening.

"It's true that the advice is the opposite of what I'm going to do, but I saw some people managed to cross it, and so I can, too," he said.

But when the rain suddenly intensified, Paul pulled away from the crowd that was closely watching the daring come and go across the river.He does not know when he finally will be able to rest and put on dry clothes. Another river that overflowed flooded his house on Tuesday.AFP