Hurricane Matthew has killed at least 261 people in hard-hit Haiti alone, where authorities and rescue workers were still struggling to reach remote areas on the southwestern peninsula as the storm powered its way toward Florida.

Haiti's civil protection service put the toll in the impoverished Caribbean nation at 108 dead, with many of them killed by falling trees, flying debris and swollen rivers. The Interior Ministry, a mayor and other local officials confirmed 28 other deaths.

The storm passed directly through the peninsula, driving the sea inland and flattening homes with winds of up to 145 mph (230 kph) and torrential rain on Monday and Tuesday.

In the coastal town of Roche-a-Bateau in Sud Department, 24 died. In Grand Anse Department, 38 more lost their lives.

The devastation in Haiti prompted authorities to postpone a presidential election scheduled for Sunday.

Poverty, weak government, continued U.S. imperialist meddling and the resulting precarious living conditions has made Haiti particularly vulnerable to natural disasters, which quickly transform into devastating social disasters. In 2010, a magnitude 7 earthquake wrecked the capital Port-au-Prince, killing upwards of 200,000 people.

In the earthquake's wake, U.N. peacekeepers recklessly introduced cholera to the country, killing at least 9,000 and infecting hundreds of thousands more.

The Pan American Health Organization said on Thursday it was preparing for a possible cholera upsurge in Haiti after the hurricane because the flooding was likely to contaminate water supplies.

teleSUR takes a look at the dire humanitarian situation in long-suffering Haiti.