By: Alia Richardson and Chris Besik
Hurricane Matthew made landfall in Haiti Tuesday.
The National Hurricane Centre reported hurricane wind speeds at 233 km/h.
CNN has reported at least three deaths from the storm.
“It comes down to the issue of the degree to which infrastructure has been hardened,” said Kent Moore, a professor at the University of Toronto who specializes in Extreme weather.
“My sense is that not much has been done in this regard to Haiti.” – Kent Moore
CP24 reported the category four hurricane has killed four people in the Dominican Republic. Jim Murtha of the Canadian Hurricane Centre told CP24 the worst part about these storms is the rainfall.
The storm is also expected to continue traveling north passing through North Carolina and making contact with Canada over the weekend.
Matthew is only moving at 7 m.p.h., meaning prolonged damage as it slowly continues on its destination.
The storm is expected to hit Florida next.
“All hurricanes draw their energy from warm sea surface temperatures. The winds in a hurricane enhance the evaporation of water,” said Moore.
“Vapour from the sea surface and this water vapour condenses to from the clouds and rain that are associated with the storm.”
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency. He said Matthew is a Category 4 hurricane, and deadly.
“If Matthew directly impacts Florida there will be massive destruction that we haven’t seen in years, comparable to what we saw with Hurricane Andrew,” said Scott at a press conference midday Tuesday.
Cuba is taking preventative measure to repel storm waters. They have evacuated about 200,000 citizens from coastal communities.
“There is also a storm surge that precedes the storm that can cause coastal flooding,” said Moore.
“Damage can be caused by the winds and rain associated with the storm.”
A geographical map showing Matthew’s intended destinations.
According to the hurricane centre this is the latest hurricane that has hit the region since 2008, when Hurricane Ike rampaged through the area.
Matthew has been on the warpath for the past few days, continuing its rampage across the Caribbean nations.
Haiti is still recovering from an earthquake in 2010. Many people are without proper shelter.