Evacuations in Caribbean as fierce Hurricane Matthew looms
KINGSTON/PORT-AU-PRINCE - Haiti has began evacuating residents by boat from outlying islands in preparation for Hurricane Matthew, the fiercest storm to cross the Caribbean for years that threatens to wreak widespread damage in the region with flash floods and high winds.
Matthew, with winds at about 150 miles per hour (240 kph), is expected to make landfall as a major storm on Jamaica's southern coast, home to the capital, Kingston, and its only oil refinery. Stormy weather could begin on Sunday.
Simultaneously. the storm is forecast to lash southern Haiti, dumping up to 40 inches (101 cm) of rain there and up to 25 inches (64 cm) in Jamaica, possibly triggering life-threatening landslides and floods, the US National Hurricane Center said.
Albert Moulion, Haiti's interior ministry spokesman, said authorities had started voluntary evacuations of residents of small, exposed sandy islands in the south as a precaution.
