Hurricane Matthew hits US

Saturday, 08/10/2016 18:59
Hurricane Matthew has strengthened as it moves slowly towards Florida, after hitting Haiti on its destructive march north through the Caribbean.
Hurricane Matthew hits Haiti (Photo: Reuters)

The National Hurricane Centre downgraded the storm to a Category 3 Hurricane with 120 mph winds.

More than 225,000 people were already without power across the state of Florida.

Some 283 people were killed in Haiti, local officials said, and thousands were displaced after the storm flattened homes, uprooted trees and inundated neighbourhoods earlier in the week. Four people were killed in the Dominican Republic, which neighbours Haiti.

It was the most powerful storm to threaten the U.S. Atlantic coast in more than a decade. More than two million people have been ordered to evacuate from America's Southeastern coastline ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Matthew, with Florida Governor Rick Scott warning residents to "prepare for a direct hit".

Mr. Scott declared an emergency in Florida and ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts. The move authorizes the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate all disaster relief efforts.

President Obama also signed a state of emergency declaration for South Carolina and Georgia on October 6th, as Matthew was due to make a landfall in the United States./.

Compiled by BTA

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