Hurricane Matthew threatens Haiti, Jamaica and other Caribbean states

An extremely dangerous Hurricane Matthew moved slowly over the Caribbean on Sunday night, following a track that authorities warned could trigger devastating floods in parts of Haiti.

The powerful Category 4 hurricane had winds of 230 kph (145 mph) late Sunday. Its center was expected to pass to the east of Jamaica and then cross over or be very close to the southwestern tip of Haiti late Monday or early Tuesday before reaching Cuba on Tuesday afternoon, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

A hurricane warning was in effect for Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti. Rain was already falling on Jamaica, but forecasters said the southern Haitian countryside around Jeremie and Les Cayes could see the worst of the rains and punishing winds.

Matthew is one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in recent history and briefly reached the top classification, Category 5, becoming the strongest hurricane in the region since Felix in 2007. The hurricane center said the storm appeared to be on track to pass east of Florida through the Bahamas, but it was too soon to predict with certainty whether it would reach the U.S. coast.

Officials with Haiti’s civil protection agency said there were roughly 1,300 emergency shelters across the country, enough to hold up to 340,000 people. Authorities broadcast warnings over the radio telling people to swiftly heed evacuation warnings, trying to counter a common tendency for people to try to stay in their homes to protect them during natural disasters.

In a Sunday address carried on state radio, interim President Jocelerme Privert urged Haitians to listen closely to the warnings of officials and be ready to move. “To those people living in houses that could collapse, it is necessary that you leave these houses to take refuge in schools and churches,” he said.

Teams of civil protection officials walked the streets of Les Cayes and other areas urging residents to secure their homes, prepare emergency kits and warn their neighbors. They also evacuated people from some outlying islands. Many Haitians appeared unaware of the looming hurricane.

Forecasters said the slow-moving hurricane was expected to dump 40 to 60 centimeters (15 to 25 inches) of rain over southern Haiti, with a few places getting as much as 100 centimeters (40 inches).

Haiti is particularly vulnerable to devastating floods because of the steep terrain, with hillsides and mountains often devoid of trees that hold back water because they have been cut down for fuel.

As of 11 p.m. EDT, the storm was centered about 520 kilometers (325 miles) southwest of Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince. It was moving north at 7 kph (5 mph).
A hurricane watch was posted for the southeastern Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands. A tropical storm warning was in effect for parts of the Dominican Republic, where authorities began mandatory evacuations of areas at risk for flooding.

The hurricane earlier had been projected to be closer to Jamaica, but still was a danger to the island-nation.

“The center of the system is looking more likely that it will pass to the east of Jamaica but it will not miss it by that much, however, the impact of the storm maybe going to be a little lower there than it would be in Haiti and eastern Cuba.

After passing Jamaica and Haiti, Matthew was projected to reach Cuba.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press