The United States is now bracing for Hurricane Matthew and this spurred a State of Emergency declaration in three US states – Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
The fiercest Caribbean storm in almost a decade has made landfall in Cuba after passing through Haiti and the Dominican Republic, leaving at least seven people feared dead.
South Carolina governor Nikki Haley also announced that she would issue an evacuation order so that 1 million people would have time to leave coastal areas, and Florida Governor Rick Scott activated the state national guard on Tuesday afternoon. In a press conference , Scott said the state should “prepare for a direct hit”.
According to Tbe Guardian UK, forecasts by the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) the storm could make landfall in Florida as soon as Thursday.
The center issued hurricane and tropical storm warnings for south-eastern Florida at 11pm ET and was about 20 miles (30km) north-west of the eastern tip of Cuba with winds of 130mph (215 kmh), the center said.
Matthew is forecast to sweep over Cuba to the Bahamas on Tuesday and possibly reach Florida by Thursday as a major hurricane, though weaker than at present. Governor Rick Scott on Tuesday urged residents to start preparing for “direct impacts” and said heavy rain, spin off tornadoes, high winds and beach erosion were among the concerns. State officials are urging people to have at least a three-day supply of food, water and medicine on hand.
The US Agency for International Development said on Monday it was providing a combined $400,000 in aid to Haiti and Jamaica. The agency said in a statement it had put relief supplies into position and was preparing to ship in additional items to the central Caribbean.