PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – An extremely dangerous Hurricane Matthew moved slowly over the Caribbean on Sunday following a track that authorities warned could trigger devastation in parts of Haiti.
The powerful Category 4 hurricane had winds of 145 mph at late afternoon and the center was expected to pass across or 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. Forecasters said the southern Haitian countryside around Jeremie and Les Cayes could see the worst of it.
“Wherever that center 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. center. “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 center 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.
Forecasters said the slow-moving hurricane was expected to dump 15 to 25 inches of rain over southern Haiti, with a few places getting as much as 40 inches.
In a Sunday address carried on state radio, interim President Jocelerme Privert urged Haitians to listen closely to the warnings of officials and be ready to move at a moment’s notice.
“Don’t just think that God is good,” he said.
A hurricane watch was posted for the southeastern Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands. A tropical storm warning was in effect for parts of the Dominican Republic, where authorities began mandatory evacuations of areas at risk for flooding.
The hurricane earlier had been projected to be closer to Jamaica, but still was a danger to the island.
“The center of the system is looking more likely that it will pass to the east of Jamaica but it won’t miss it by that much, so they are still going to see impacts,” Cangilosi said. “The impacts are maybe going to be a little lower there than they would be in Haiti and eastern Cuba.”
After passing Jamaica and Haiti, Matthew was projected to reach Cuba, potentially striking on Tuesday near the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, where authorities were evacuating non-essential personnel, including about 700 family members of those serving there.
Everyone remaining behind was being told to take shelter, said Julie Ann Ripley, a spokeswoman. There are about 5,500 people living on the base, including 61 men held at the detention center for terrorism suspects.
Cuban President Raul Castro traveled to the eastern city of Santiago to oversee preparations for Matthew’s arrival.
A report on state television showed the 85-year-old leader discussing the hurricane’s path with ministers and saying: “This is a hurricane we need to prepare for as if it were twice as powerful as Sandy,” the 2012 hurricane that devastated much of Cuba’s second-largest city.
