Haiti<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> Hurricane Matthew is bearing down on Haiti.<br /><br /> Towns and villages are bracing for “catastrophic” floods and mudslides that forecasters fear will be triggered by the storm’s 230 kph winds and a metre of rainfall.<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> Where is the hurricane now?<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> Winds and rain have begun to pick up in the southwest of the Caribbean nation.<br /><br /> The US National Hurricane Center says the centre of the intense Category 4 storm was due late Monday evening.<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> 11pm ET update: Hurricane Matthew strengthens with 145 mph winds as it nears Haiti https://t.co/TDrJn8LF0c pic.twitter.com/KUD6Ymnf1Y— BuzzFeed Storm (@BuzzFeedStorm) October 4, 2016<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> Is anywhere else affected?<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> Matthew is forecast to hit Cuba and the Bahamas on Tuesday.<br /><br /> The main airports have been closed in Jamaica and Haiti.<br /><br /> Evacuation operations are underway in Cuba. Tourists in the eastern town of Santiago de Cuba have been moved inland and told where to shelter in hotels during the hurricane.<br /><br /> The storm may also reach Florida by Thursday as a major hurricane.<br /><br /> It is one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes in recent history and was about 155 km south of the westernmost tip of Haiti at 0300 GMT on Monday.<br /><br /> Matthew is expected to drop between 30 and 101 cm of rain on parts of the island.<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> Is Haiti particularly vulnerable?<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> Yes.<br /><br /> Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas.<br /><br /> A combination of weak government and precarious living conditions for most of its people make it particularly vulnerable to natural disasters.<br /><br /> More than 200,000 were killed when a 7-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti in 2010.<br /><br /> Many survivors are still living in flimsy, temporary accommodation.<br /><br /> Haiti is also prone to flash floods and mudslides because most of its hillsides have been stripped bare by people cutting down trees to make charcoal to sell for fuel.<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> Precautions<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> The authorities are ferrying 3,000 people off Ile-a-Vache by helicopter. The low-lying island is off Haiti’s southwest coast.<br /><br /> Interior Minister Francois Anick Joseph says 30,000 are affected.<br /><br /> 150,000 also need to be moved to safety from Haiti’s largest slum, Cite Soleil in the capital, Port-au-Prince.<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> Hurricane Matthew drenches Haiti, threatens catastrophe as a Category 4 storm https://t.co/NaMFlTcWNa pic.twitter.com/v4gjuAcBiu— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) October 4, 2016<br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> What they are saying<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br /> “It has the potential to be catastrophic,” – Dennis Feltgen, meteorologist<br /><br /> “After the hurricane, we will be miserable. We’ll be hungry..the houses will be destroyed,” – 44-year-old resident Rosette Joseph.<br />
