"The U.S. Catholic Church Responds to Recent Emergency in Haiti" by Catholic Relief Services (CatholicMom.com) Photo by Marie Arago for Catholic Relief Services. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

A statue protected in a niche is all that’s left standing in this Catholic Church in the coastal town of Roche Bateau, Haiti. The church is among thousands of buildings and homes that were destroyed by a category four hurricane on October 4th.

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Hurricane Matthew pounded villages along the Tiburon peninsula in coastal southwest of Haiti, also known as Haiti’s breadbasket. Torrential downpours and 145 mph winds toppled trees, ruined crops, swept away people and animals, and destroyed up to 90% of homes in some areas.

Over 2 million people, about the population of Houston, TX were affected, hundreds of people died and 1.4 million men, women and children are in need of emergency assistance. It’s not just the coast that is hurting. The loss of crops jeopardizes the welfare of the entire country because the area is a key producer of Haiti’s food supply.

Clean water is in short supply and poor sanitation threatens to trigger another outbreak of cholera, a disease that has killed some 10,000 since the 2010 earthquake.

Catholic Relief Services and local Church partners are playing a critical role to address the needs of the community and has been on the ground since day one providing essential supplies such as food, blankets and other emergency supplies.  Learn more at: crs.org

Copyright 2016 Catholic Relief Services.

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency alleviates suffering and provides assistance to people in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding. For more information, please visit crs.org or crsespanol.org and follow CRS on social media: Facebook@CatholicRelief@CRSnewsYouTubeInstagram and Pinterest.