Emergency aid appeal for Haiti

The Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal to provide immediate relief to 50,000 Haitians in the aftermath of the strongest hurricane to hit the Caribbean since 2007.

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is seeking 6.8 million Swiss francs ($A9 million) to help provide medical relief, shelter, water and sanitation over the next year to people affected by Hurricane Matthew in southwestern Haiti.

"We are extremely concerned for the safety, health and well-being of the women, men and children who have been impacted, particularly those in remote towns and villages," IFRC's Latin Caribbean head, Ines Brill, said in a statement.

A Reuters tally of deaths reported by local officials showed the storm killed at least 339 people in Haiti and displaced thousands as it flattened homes, uprooted trees and inundated neighbourhoods on its way through Haiti's southwestern peninsula .

The Red Cross estimated more than one million people in Haiti were affected, with hundreds of thousands in need of humanitarian assistance.