Hurricane Matthew kills almost 900 in Haiti before hitting US

2016-10-08 15:20

By (Agencies)

Hurricane Matthew kills almost 900 in Haiti before hitting US

Image provided by the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti shows villagers walking through a flooded street after the pass of Hurricane Matthew, in Jeremie city, Haiti on Oct 6, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

FOUR KILLED IN FLORIDA

Matthew sideswiped Florida's coast with winds of up to 120 mph (195 kph) but did not make landfall in the state. The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) downgraded the storm to a Category 2 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity as its sustained winds dropped to 110 mph. Category 5 is the strongest.

There were at least four storm-related deaths in Florida but no immediate reports of significant damage in cities and towns where the storm swamped streets, toppled trees and knocked out power to more than 1 million people.

Two people were killed by falling trees, according to Florida officials, and an elderly couple died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator while sheltering from the storm inside a garage.

Hurricane warnings early on Saturday extended up the Atlantic coast from northeast Florida through Georgia and South Carolina and into North Carolina.

Flash flood warnings were also in effect as 15 inches (40 cm) of rain was expected to accumulate in parts of the region along with storm surges and high tides, the National Weather Service said.

In Daytona Beach, the street under the city's famed "World's Most Famous Beach" sign was clogged with debris washed up by the ocean. The waves had receded by early afternoon but there was damage throughout the city, including a facade ripped off the front of a seaside hotel.

Robert Walker, a 51-year-old mechanic, weathered the worst of the storm in his seaside Daytona Beach apartment where high-powered winds peeled back the roof.