Hurricane Matthew slams into Haiti

Record ID: 84914

  • Title: Hurricane Matthew slams into Haiti
  • Date: 4th October 2016
  • Summary: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (OCTOBER 04, 2016) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF CROWD OF PEOPLE WAITING TO CROSS BRIDGE GENERAL VIEW OF CROWD OF PEOPLE RUNNING ACROSS BRIDGE, SWOLLEN RIVER RAGING UNDERNEATH GENERAL VIEW OF SWOLLEN RIVER
  • Embargoed: 19th October 2016 19:10
  • Keywords: Hurricane Matthew Port-au-Prince floods storm
  • Location: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI AND INTERNET
  • City: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI AND INTERNET
  • Country: Haiti
  • Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Wind/Hurricane/Typhoons/Tornadoes
  • Reuters ID: LVA00152LD553
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The fiercest Caribbean storm in almost a decade slammed Haiti on Tuesday (October 04) with 145 mile-per-hour (230 kph) winds and surging seas that flooded coastal towns, killing at least one person and tearing at trees and rooftops before moving out to sea.
    The eye of the violent and slow-moving Category 4 Hurricane Matthew passed over the western tip of Haiti, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said, bringing devastating winds, torrential rains and a storm surge with massive waves. The storm was forecast to remain powerful as it made its way to Cuba and the Bahamas.
    As much as 3 feet (1 meter) of rain was forecast to fall over hills that are largely deforested and prone to flash floods and mudslides, threatening villages as well as shantytowns in the capital Port-au-Prince, where heavy rain fell overnight.
    The hurricane comes at a time when tens of thousands of people are still living in flimsy tents and makeshift dwellings in Haiti after a 2010 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people.
    Life-threatening flash floods and mudslides were likely in southern and northwestern Haiti, the hurricane center said. It expected Matthew to remain a powerful hurricane through at least Wednesday night.
    Matthew was 35 miles (60 km) north of Haiti and 90 miles (145 km) south of the eastern tip of Cuba at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT). It was moving north at about 10 miles per hour (17 kph), the hurricane center said.
    The storm is expected to make a hit later on Tuesday in the province of Guantanamo, which is home to the disputed U.S. Naval base and military prison and also to a small Cuban city. The U.S. Navy ordered the evacuation of 700 spouses and children of service personnel as the storm approached.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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