Hurricane Matthew devastated Haiti on Tuesday after making landfall in the southwest of the country, causing massive flooding and heavy rains, particularly in the southern city of Les Cayes.
Matthew has already led to the deaths of at least 11 people in the Caribbean, including five in Haiti, where the storm caused the collapse of a major bridge in the southern part of the country and has already reportedly displaced thousands of people.
The landfall in Haiti came as the Bahamas was bracing for a potential impact.
The storm, which the National Hurricane Center called “extremely dangerous,” was also already pounding the eastern tip of Cuba with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph on Tuesday evening.
The Bahamas faced the most potential peril, with Matthew expected to move near or over portions of the southeastern and central Bahamas on Tuesday night and Wednesday, approaching the northwestern Bahamas on Wednesday night.
The storm is expected to remain a powerful hurricane through at least Thursday night.
Hurricane warnings remain in effect for:
* Haiti
* Cuban provinces of Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, Granma, and Las Tunas
* Southeastern Bahamas, including the Inaguas, Mayaguana, Acklins, Crooked Island, Long Cay, and Ragged Island
* Central Bahamas, including Long Island, Exuma, Rum Cay, San Salvador, and Cat Island
* Northwestern Bahamas, including the Abacos, Andros Island, Berry Islands, Bimini, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama Island, and New Providence
A Hurricane watch was in effect for the Cuban province of Camaguey, while a tropical storm warning was in effect for the Dominican Republic from Barahona to the border with Haiti, and for the Turks and Caicos Islands.