World
Hurricane Matthew, the fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade, barreled toward the southeastern United States on Thursday after killing at least 69 people, mostly in Haiti, on its deadly northward march.
Updated : Oct 06, 2016, 08:49 PM IST
Hurricane Matthew has strengthened into a category 4 storm as it barrels toward Florida, the National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory on Thursday.
The hurricane, now located about 180 miles (290 km) southeast of West Palm Beach, Florida packing maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hours (220 km/h), could strengthen further and remain a category 4 hurricane as it approached the Florida coast, the agency said.
The death toll from Hurricane Matthew rose to at least 69 people, including 65 in struggling Haiti, local officials said. Haiti's civil protection service put the toll in the impoverished Caribbean nation at 23 dead with many of them killed by falling trees, flying debris and swollen rivers. The Interior Ministry, a mayor and other local officials confirmed 42 other deaths to Reuters across Haiti.