THE death toll in Haiti’s hurricane disaster soared to over 400 yesterday as floodwaters ebbed and victims’ bodies were recovered.

The BBC reported that 50 people died in the town of Roche-a-Bateau alone, while in neighbouring Jeremie 80 per cent of homes were destroyed — among 30,000 in the south-western Sud department.

Pilus Enor, mayor of coastal town Camp Perrin, said: “Devastation is everywhere.”

But the death toll from Hurricane Matthew’s 145-mph winds was feared to rise higher in Grand-Anse department to the north.

Officials said that food and water were urgently needed, noting that crops had been levelled, wells inundated by seawater and some water treatment facilities destroyed.

Pan American Health Organisation officials warned of a possible surge in cholera cases from widespread flooding.

Haiti’s cholera outbreak has killed roughly 10,000 people since 2010, when it was introduced into the country’s biggest river from a UN base.