An amphibious warship carrying Marines arrived Sunday in Port Au Prince, Haiti, to render assistance in the wake of the devastating Hurricane Matthew.
Amphibious transport dock Mesa Verde left Norfolk on Oct. 5 for Haiti on a disaster relief mission, and arrived in Haiti with Marines with the 24th Expeditionary Unit.
Meanwhile, the Expeditionary Strike Group 2 leader surveyed the damages from the category 4 storm that plowed into Haiti last Tuesday and displaced tens of thousands. The death toll was above 336 and rising six days later, according to media reports.
“The U.S. effort is coordinated by the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development,” Rear Adm. Roy Kitchener said in a Monday ESG-2 press release. “We are here to do our part in the larger relief effort to help the people of Haiti after this devastating hurricane.”
To prepare for the mission, the Mesa Verde crew on-loaded supplies like food and medical kits from fleet replenishment oiler Patuxent in heavy seas only a day after getting underway.
Kitchener met with the U.S. ambassador to Haiti and the commander of Joint Task Force Matthew to discuss relief efforts.
Sailors and Marines with another ESG-2 ship, the amphibious assault ship Iwo Jima, are headed to Haiti and expected to arrive there later this week.
“We are committed to working closely with our international partners to provide Haitians with the support they need,” Kitchener said in the statement.
