Hurricane Matthew floods Jamaica and Haiti as storm roars closer
Heavy rain from the outer bands of Hurricane Matthew have drenched Jamaica and Haiti, flooding streets and forcing thousands of residents to emergency shelters as the category four storm approaches the two countries.
Two deaths have been reported in Haiti, bringing the total number caused by the giant storm so far to at least four.
Matthew has sustained winds of 140mph as it moves north, up from 130mph earlier in the day. The centre of the storm is expected to pass just east of Jamaica and near or over the south-western tip of Haiti early Tuesday before heading to eastern Cuba.
US National Hurricane Centre expert Richard Pasch said: "We are looking at a dangerous hurricane that is heading into the vicinity of western Haiti and eastern Cuba.
"People who are impacted by things like flooding and mudslides hopefully would get out and relocate because that's where we have seen loss of life in the past."
Many are taking that advice. In Jamaica, more than 700 people have packed into shelters in the eastern parish of St Thomas and the Salvation Army said there are about 200 people at its shelters in Kingston, as it put out a call for mattresses and cots. Many streets are already flooded throughout the country's south-east.
But many people still plan to stick it out at home. Local government minister Desmond McKenzie said all but four residents of the Port Royal area near Kingston airport refused to board buses and evacuate.
Fisherman Carlos Smith, in St Catherine Parish, said he realises the storm appears to be dangerous but he cannot abandon his property. "I want to leave any time now and go to a shelter, but we can't leave our things because that's how we hustle and make a living," he said.
In Haiti, authorities have been going door-to-door in the south coast cities of Les Cayes and Jeremie to make sure people are aware of the storm. At least 1,200 people have been evacuated to shelters in churches and schools.
"We are continuing to mobilise teams in the south to move people away from dangerous areas," said Marie Alta Jean-Baptiste, head of Haiti's civil protection agency.
In Port-au-Prince, schools are shuttered and residents lined up at petrol stations and cleared out the shelves at supermarkets as a light rain fell in the capital. Some worried the city of roughly a million people will not fare well. "We are not prepared," Fritz Achelus said as he watched water pool on a city centre street.
At least two fishermen died in rough water churned up by the storm, Ms Jean-Baptiste said. A boat carrying one of the men capsized early on Monday off the tiny south-western fishing town of Saint Jean du Sud as he was trying to bring his wooden skiff to shore. The body of the other was recovered a short time later off the nearby town of Aquin after he apparently drowned.
There have been two other storm-related deaths: one man died in Friday in Colombia and a 16-year-old in St Vincent and the Grenadines on September 28 when the system passed through the eastern Caribbean.
Forecasters said the storm is expected to dump as much as 40in of rain on some isolated areas of Haiti, raising fears of deadly mudslides and floods in the heavily deforested country where many families live in flimsy houses with corrugated metal roofs.
Matthew is one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in recent history and briefly reached the top classification, category five, becoming the strongest hurricane in the region since Felix in 2007.
The hurricane centre said the storm appears to be on track to pass east of Florida through the Bahamas, but it is too soon to predict with certainty whether it will threaten any spot on the US east coast.
"Although our track is to the east of Florida, interests there should remain vigilant and we can't rule out the possibility of impacts," Mr Pasch said.
