Hurricane Matthew hits Haiti

The “extremely dangerous” storm has already killed at least three people, caused cruise ships to change course and prompted officials to declare states of emergency.
And officials have warned that the death toll could climb.
“We’ve already seen deaths. People who were out at sea. There are people who are missing. They are people who didn’t respect the alerts. They’ve lost their lives,” Interim Haitian President Jocelerme Privert said at a news conference.
The Category 4 hurricane made landfall near Les Anglais, Haiti, around 7 a.m. ET, according to the National Hurricane Center. An hour later, it was churning north across inland Haiti at about 9 mph, the hurricane center said.
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Ferocious rain and wind were already thrashing the Caribbean nation before the storm made landfall. And forecasters said Tuesday that life-threatening flash floods and mudslides were likely.
Up to 40 inches of rain could be dumped on the impoverished nation, which is still recovering from a devastating earthquake that struck six years ago and a cholera outbreak after that.

As Matthew drenched Haiti with dozens of inches of rain, Cuba, the Bahamas and the United States took steps to prepare for the storm’s arrival in the coming days.
A backhoe removes garbage to clear a canal in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Monday. Hurricane Matthew is threatening to dump a foot of rain or more on the Caribbean island.
Photos: Caribbean islands brace for Hurricane Matthew
A backhoe removes garbage to clear a canal in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Monday. Hurricane Matthew is threatening to dump a foot of rain or more on the Caribbean island.
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Nice Simon, the mayor of Tabarre, Haiti, holds a baby as she helps evacuate the Tabarre river area.
Photos: Caribbean islands brace for Hurricane Matthew
Nice Simon, the mayor of Tabarre, Haiti, holds a baby as she helps evacuate the Tabarre river area.
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People stock up on food at a supermarket in Port-au-Prince on Sunday.
Photos: Caribbean islands brace for Hurricane Matthew
People stock up on food at a supermarket in Port-au-Prince on Sunday.
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People carry their mattresses to a shelter in Santiago, Cuba, on Sunday.
Photos: Caribbean islands brace for Hurricane Matthew
People carry their mattresses to a shelter in Santiago, Cuba, on Sunday.
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A worker dismantles a traffic light in Santiago, Cuba, before the hurricane hits.
Photos: Caribbean islands brace for Hurricane Matthew
A worker dismantles a traffic light in Santiago, Cuba, before the hurricane hits.
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Residents of Cuba's Holguin Province line up to buy gas on Sunday.
Photos: Caribbean islands brace for Hurricane Matthew
Residents of Cuba’s Holguin Province line up to buy gas on Sunday.
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Cars are driven in heavy rain in Kingston, Jamaica, on Sunday.
Photos: Caribbean islands brace for Hurricane Matthew
Cars are driven in heavy rain in Kingston, Jamaica, on Sunday.
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A worker nails a board to a storefront window in Kingston on Saturday, October 1.
Photos: Caribbean islands brace for Hurricane Matthew
A worker nails a board to a storefront window in Kingston on Saturday, October 1.
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Fishermen pull a boat out of the water in Kingston on Saturday.
Photos: Caribbean islands brace for Hurricane Matthew
Fishermen pull a boat out of the water in Kingston on Saturday.
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Haitian civil protection workers arrive to evacuate residents from the Tabarre region of Haiti on Monday, October 3, in anticipation of Hurricane Matthew's landfall. The eye of the Category 4 storm was expected to pass near southwestern Haiti on Tuesday.
Photos: Caribbean islands brace for Hurricane Matthew
Haitian civil protection workers arrive to evacuate residents from the Tabarre region of Haiti on Monday, October 3, in anticipation of Hurricane Matthew’s landfall. The eye of the Category 4 storm was expected to pass near southwestern Haiti on Tuesday.