Hurricane-hit southern Haiti cut off after bridge collapse

Southern Haiti, lashed relentlessly by Hurricane Matthew, was cut off from the rest of the country Tuesday after a bridge collapsed, authorities said. The road, Route Nationale 2, leading to and from La Digue Bridge is the only one linking the capital Port-au-Prince to the southern peninsula, which has been hardest hit by the deadly storm that has triggered floods and forced thousands to flee in the poorest country in the Americas. "An emergency meeting is taking place to restore access, but it's going to be difficult to find an alternative route," civil protection spokesman Edgar Celestin told AFP. Rising sea levels and torrential rains have caused major flooding in southern Haiti since Sunday evening. Fierce winds knocked out communications with the southern part of the island for hours but telephone service is slowly being restored. Celestin said that for now it is impossible to have an idea of fatalities or the extent of damage in southern Haiti, as civil protection workers there could not be reached or get outdoors to assess the situation.