Storm threatens Caribbean
One of the most powerful hurricanes in recent history could trigger floods in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI— An extremely dangerous Hurricane Matthew moved slowly over the Caribbean on Sunday, following a track that authorities warned could trigger devastating floods in parts of Haiti.
The powerful Category 4 hurricane had winds of 230 km/h on Sunday evening. Its centre 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 before reaching Cuba on Tuesday, 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.
“Wherever that centre passes close to would see the worst winds and that’s what’s projected to happen for the western tip of Haiti,” said John Cangilosi, a hurricane specialist at the U.S. centre. “There is a big concern for rains there and also a big concern for storm surge.”
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 centre 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 lis- ten closely to the warnings of officials and be ready to move. “To those people living in houses that could collapse, it’s 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 neighbours. They also evacuated people from some outlying islands. Many Haitians appeared unaware of the looming hurricane.
“No, I haven’t heard anything about a bad storm coming here,” farmer Jean-Bernard Mede said with a concerned expression as he took a break from walking three cows along a dirt track outside the flood-prone town of Leogane. “I’ll do what I can for my animals and my family.”
Forecasters said the slow-moving hurricane was expected to dump 40 to 60 centimetres of rain over southern Haiti, with a few places getting as much as 100 centimetres.
The impoverished country is particularly vulnerable to devastating floods because of the steep terrain.