Deadly hurricane continues to tear through Caribbean

World Today

Cuba hurricane devastationPeople look to salvage personal belongings from their homes damaged by Hurricane Matthew in Baracoa, Cuba. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Already embattled Haiti is struggling to cope with Hurricane Matthew, which made landfall on Tuesday, and continued its path across the Caribbean.

CCTV America’s Michael Voss reports.

At least 11 deaths have been attributed to the storm thus far–five of which were in Haiti. The hurricane damaged dozens of homes in eastern Cuba, which was hit hard by the massive storm system. Cuban authorities say they moved 35,000 residents of homes close to the water further inland to higher ground before the storm.

Haiti, which was devastated by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in 2010 that killed over 200,000 people, is still struggling to recover from the natural disaster. Hurricane Matthew has now struck a largely rural area where many people live in flimsy wooden shacks, which was no match for a storm with winds of some 240 kilometers an hour (149 miles per hour).

The hurricane system is set to move to Florida by Thursday, as some school systems in the state preemptively canceled classes. Officials in areas along the Atlantic in Florida have ordered their residents to evacuate in anticipation of the hurricane.

“Matthew could soon affect areas all across the southeast,” President Obama said after a meeting at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) “So, at my direction, FEMA has been on the ground in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, working with state and local officials to prepare for the storm. We’ve already got response teams and supplies pre-positioned, and ready to help communities in the region.”

“I want to emphasize to the public: This is a serious storm. It has already hit Haiti with devastating effect. It is now in the process of moving through the Bahamas. Because it’s not going to be hitting enough land, it is going to be building strength on its way to Florida,” President Obama said.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Tuesday ordered partial evacuations from her state, along with the cancelation of some schools ahead of the storm.

Story compiled with information from The Associated Press.


Paul Williams discusses Hurricane Matthew

For the latest on Hurricane Matthew, CCTV America’s Mike Walter spoke with Paul Williams, meteorologist of Accuweather.