11/21/2016

HurricaneMatthewchurnstowardsJamaica,Haiti|TheDailyStar

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11:26 AM, October 02, 2016 / LAST MODIFIED: 01:16 PM, October 02, 2016

Hurricane Matthew churns towards

Jamaica, Haiti

This NOAA-NASA GOES East satellite photo shows storm activity in the Atlantic Ocean on October 1, 2016. Photo:
AFP

AFP, Kingston, Jamaica

Hurricane Matthew, the most powerful Caribbean storm in a decade, churned towards Jamaica and Haiti
Saturday on a path forecasters said could take it to the eastern United States.
Briefly a top threat overnight as a furious Category 5 storm on the 1-5 Saffir-Simpson scale, Matthew has
now weakened into a still dangerous Category 4 hurricane, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center
said.

That makes it the strongest Caribbean storm since Hurricane Felix in 2007.

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HurricaneMatthewchurnstowardsJamaica,Haiti|TheDailyStar

The hurricane is forecast to dump "10 to 20 inches (25-50 cm) over eastern Jamaica, the Dominican
Republic, and eastern Cuba, with possible isolated maximum amounts of 25 inches (64 centimeters)," the
NHC said.

A man collects recyclables in the canal of Portail Leogane, in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, on October 1, 2016. Photo:
AFP

"This rainfall will likely produce life-threatening flash floods and mud slides," it warned.
At 0001 GMT, Matthew had "barely moved during past few hours, but a slow northwestward motion is
expected to begin tonight," the NHC said.
A turn toward the north-northwest with an increase in forward speed is forecast for Sunday, and then
another to the north on Monday.

"On the forecast track, the center of Matthew will approach Jamaica and southwestern Haiti on Monday,"
the NHC said.
Jamaicans waited in long lines at supermarkets, hardware stores and gas stations to stock up on
essentials before the storm's arrival.
"This is not a joking matter," Desmond McKenzie, minister of local government and community
development, told residents of the island.
"There is no room for any mischief to be made as we face one of the most severe natural disasters in
quite a long while," he added.

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Some Jamaicans voiced skepticism at the dire warnings, saying that in the past they had stockpiled
supplies and hunkered down only to see the storm to pass.
"I am tired of wasting my money buying food, gas, boarding up my house," said Michael Franklin, a taxi
driver in Montego Bay.
"Then all we get is just a lot of rain and we can't get back our money," he added.
The hurricane was "meandering over the south-central Caribbean," packing winds of 150 miles (240
kilometers) per hour, with higher gusts, the NHC said.
The center of the storm is located 360 miles south of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, and 385 miles
southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, the NHC said.
Current weather models showed it could eventually make its way to the US mainland, forecasters said.
"It is too soon to rule out possible hurricane impacts from Matthew in Florida," the NHC said.
- Haiti, Jamaica batten down The Jamaican government was placing some 2,000 homeless people in shelters, and the country's waste
management authority was working 24 hours a day to remove garbage, according to Minister McKenzie.
He also said the army and army reserves had been called to help limit the damage, as hospitals
throughout the island of almost three million people stood ready.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness toured areas of Montego Bay to check on preparations, and some
Caribbean Airlines flights were cancelled.
The US Embassy in Jamaica said it would be closed Monday and Tuesday for consular services "due to
the anticipated effects of Hurricane Matthew."
In Haiti, home to almost 11 million people, many living in fragile housing in the poorest country in the
Americas, authorities advised said southern island residents that they were "first at risk," and urged
them to prepare.
"We invite them to secure the area surrounding their homes and begin to stock up on water and food,"
Edgar Celestin, a spokesman for the Haitian civil protection agency, told AFP.
Ocean swells with the potential to cause dangerous currents and rip tides are also possible over the next
two days in coastal regions of Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Colombia, the Dominican
Republic and Haiti.
As the threat in Colombia diminished, the country rescinded a high level alert.
The Atlantic hurricane season normally runs from June 1 to November 30, but this year's first hurricane,
Alex, formed in January.
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HurricaneMatthewchurnstowardsJamaica,Haiti|TheDailyStar

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