Famine fears rise after hurricane wrecks Haiti's bread-basket

A girl protects herself from rain with a bag after Hurricane Matthew in Les Anglais, Haiti, October 13, 2016. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares

LES CAYES (Reuters) - Hurricane Matthew tore up large tracts of food crops as well as mature coffee and cocoa plantations when it ravaged Haiti's fertile south last week, with a U.N. official expressing concern about possible famine in the poorest nation in the Americas.

The destruction of crops like rice, corn and beans in the area puts more than 100,000 children at risk of acute malnutrition, the United Nations said on Friday, in a Caribbean country where half the population already was underfed before the powerful hurricane hit.