Florida woman becomes first US victim as hurricane blocks rescue

By : AFP

Date: 7 October 2016 5:03pm WAT

COCOA BEACH, FL - OCTOBER 07: Heavy waves caused by Hurricane Matthew pound the boat docks at the Sunset Bar and Grill, October 7, 2016 on Cocoa Beach, Florida. Hurricane Matthew passed by offshore as a catagory 3 hurricane bringing heavy winds and minor flooding. Mark Wilson/Getty Images/AFP

The United States marked its first known fatality from Hurricane Matthew as the Category 3 storm lashing the Florida coast claimed the life of a resident there, fire officials said Friday.

A woman in her late 50s suffered a medical emergency in her home in central Florida’s St. Lucie County, but high winds prevented fire officials from reaching her, a fire spokeswoman told AFP.

“We were unable to respond safely and unfortunately she died,” said St. Lucie County Fire District spokeswoman Catherine Chaney.
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The cause of death was cardiac arrest, Chaney added.

The powerful storm surged through the Caribbean earlier this week, at times as a powerful Category 5 storm, killing at least 400 people in Haiti and four in the Dominican Republic.