Hurricane Matthew was moving through the sparsely populated islands of the southern Bahamas early Wednesday after causing heavy damage to southwest Haiti. U.S. forecasters said the storm—the most powerful hurricane in the region in almost a decade—was on track to move directly over the Bahamian capital of Nassau before nearing the coast of the southeastern U.S. state of Florida. At least 11 deaths were blamed on Matthew during its weeklong march across the Caribbean Sea, five of the fatalities in Haiti. But with a key bridge destroyed, roads impassable, and telephone communications down, the western tip of Haiti was isolated and there was little information on dead and injured. Forecasters said Matthew's 200 kilometer-per-hour (kph) winds, drenching rains, and significant storm surge already were beginning to impact the southern Bahamas as the storm approached. On Tuesday, the hurricane moved across a remote area of Haiti with winds of 230 kph, and government officials said they were far from fully assessing the impact in the vulnerable, flood-prone country, where less powerful storms have killed thousands. International aid efforts were limited because of the lack of access to the hardest-hit areas. Muddy rivers and tributaries continued to rise as water flowed down hillsides and mountains, making more flash floods and mudslides possible even as the hurricane moved away from the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
