Hurricane Matthew: dozens dead in Dominican Republic, Haiti as Cuba's oldest town flattened

A woman cries amid the rubble of her home,
 destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Baracoa, Cuba.

Les cayes, Haiti Hurricane Matthew twisted toward the Bahamas and Florida's east coast on Wednesday after killing at least 26 people and damaging a majority of homes in Haiti's south, and flattening Cuba's oldest town, Baracoa.

The powerful Category 3 hurricane, the fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade, whipped Cuba and Haiti with 230 kph winds and torrential rains on Tuesday, pummelling towns and destroying livestock, crops and homes.

In the United States, more than 1.5 million people were urged to evacuate the south-eastern coast and Florida Governor Rick Scott warned residents to prepare for a possible direct hit that could be catastrophic.

Hundreds of thousands of people had been evacuated from the path of Matthew, which caused severe flooding and killed four people in the Dominican Republic as well as at least 22 in Haiti. The two countries share the island of Hispaniola.

Read the Melbourne Age - “Hurricane Matthew: dozens dead in Dominican Republic, Haiti as Cuba's oldest town flattened.”