Hurricane Matthew Set to Hit Caribbean

Residents in Jamaica spent the weekend stocking up on supplies and boarding up their homes – preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Matthew.

With winds reaching speeds of up to 130 miles per hour, the approaching hurricane is being described as the most powerful Atlantic tropical storm since 2007. As of Sunday, it is a Category 4 storm.

The centre of Hurricane Matthew is set to hit Jamaica on Wednesday, however, some residents are refusing to heed storm warnings, instead opting to ride out the worst of it.

Meteorologist, Domenica Davis, warns that the storm “is shaping up to be a devastating blow, especially to places like Haiti and Cuba”. In certain isolated areas of Haiti, residents can expect between 25 to 40 inches of rain. Residents of some of the outlying islands have already been evacuated by boat. Meanwhile, the US government has begun preparations to airlift hundreds of people located at its naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Two disaster response teams have been deployed to Haiti and Jamaica, where flash floods and mudslides have been predicted.

Davis warns that Hurricane Matthew is likely to reach the Bahamas by Wednesday but that it is too early to tell whether the US East Coast will be affected.

Florida governor, Rick Scott is urging residents to prepare themselves, and to “make sure to have three days of food and water, flashlights, batteries and a battery powered radio”.
The storm has already taken the lives of two people – a 67-year-old man in Colombia and a 16-year-old boy in St Vincent.