“Some of us will die”: Hurricane Matthew bearing down on Haiti, Jamaica
Last Updated Oct 3, 2016 2:41 PM EDT
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Vulnerable Haiti braced for flash floods, violent winds, and widespread destruction from the extremely dangerous Hurricane Matthew as the powerful storm approached the hemisphere’s poorest country Monday.
Heavy rains from the outer bands of the storm have already begun drenching Jamaica and Haiti on Monday, flooding streets and sending many people to emergency shelters as the Category 4 storm approached the two countries. Two deaths were reported in Haiti, bringing the total for the storm to at least four.
Matthew had sustained winds of 140 mph as it moved north, up from 130 mph earlier in the day. The center was expected to pass just east of Jamaica and near or over the southwestern tip of Haiti early Tuesday before heading to eastern Cuba, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
As of 2 p.m. EDT, the storm was centered about 250 miles southwest of Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince and 195 miles southeast of Kingston. It was moving north at 6 mph.
The director of Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency said two fishermen have died in rough water churned up by the approaching storm, hours before it was expected to make landfall. The government banned boating along the country’s coastlines starting Saturday. But the head of an 80-member fishermen’s association in the south coast town of Gressier says some fishermen were taking to the seas early Monday.
Johnny Souffrant says, “They feel they have to take risks to support their families.”…more..