DISASTER teams from Oxford-based charity Oxfam are helping people in Haiti after Hurricane Matthew slammed into the country's south-west peninsula.

The Category 4 storm has now claimed at least 283 lives in just one part of Haiti's south west, the region that bore the brunt of the storm, government officials there said.

The overall death toll is not clear, as official figures earlier put the number for the whole country at 122, but it is expected to rise.

Bodies started to appear as waters receded in some places two days after Matthew's 145mph winds smashed concrete walls, flattened palm trees and tore roofs off homes, forcing thousands of Haitians to flee.

The @OxfamInHaiti team in work mode #Haiti #solidarity #Matthew #PostMatthew pic.twitter.com/MnsWZ5wbEs

— Dee Févry-Gilliand (@dee_fev) October 7, 2016

Herald Series:

  • ​People try to put the body of victim of Hurricane Matthew in a coffin. Picture: AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery

This morning a spokesman for Oxfam said teams were continuing to respond to the disaster, with the charity also appealing for donations. 

An earlier statement from Jean Claude Fignole, its influence program director in Haiti, said: "Our first response will concentrate on saving lives by providing safe water and hygiene kits to avoid the spread of cholera.

"Right now there are at least 10,000 people displaced from their homes, and in need of safe shelter, water and food."

Officials are especially concerned about the department of Grand-Anse on the northern tip of the peninsula, where they believe the death toll and damage is highest. The 283 deaths reported early today did not include Grand-Anse or other nearby areas.

"Devastation is everywhere," said Pilus Enor, mayor of the town of Camp Perrin.

Herald Series:

  • Girls hold hands as they help each other wade through a flooded street. Picture: AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery

"Every house has lost its roof. All the plantations have been destroyed. This is the first time we see something like this."

People faced an immediate hunger crisis in Grand-Anse's largest city of Jeremie, said Maarten Boute, chairman of telecom Digicel Haiti, who flew there in a helicopter.

In the nearby seaport of Les Cayes, many people searched for clean water as they lugged mattresses and other belongings they were able to salvage.

"Nothing is going well," said Jardine Laguerre, a teacher. "The water took what little money we had. We are hungry."

Authorities and aid workers are just beginning to get a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years.