Worcester Woman Lost 6 Family Members in Haiti Flood

WORCESTER, MA—The death toll caused by Hurricane Matthew, which swept through Haiti last week, has risen above 1,000. Among them were six family members of Worcester woman Jacinta Rebecca Chirac, who was born and raised in Haiti.

Chirac's aunt, uncle and their four children were killed in the category 4 hurricane in a country where the homes, as Chirac describes, are "like a cage....a version of what we have in the USA for pets."

In order to pay for a proper burial, and also help survivors, she's started a GoFundMe page. Chirac told her story here to WCVB-TV News.

"I'm raising money for Haiti because I feel so helpless after hurricane Matthew hit Haiti," she writes on her GoFundMe page. "Yet again, Haiti was pummeled by another natural disaster while still recovering from the 2010 earthquake. Having lived through a similar hurricane as a child growing up in Haiti, I know the difference your generous contribution will make."

$1,600 of her $10,000 goal has been raised so far.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons