Hurricane Matthew - Informative Note # 1, 1 October 2016 – 1700 (EST)

Caribbean - Hurricane Matthew

Hurricane Matthew remains a powerful category 4 hurricane. As of 1700 EST it is located 13.5° N and 73.4° W, some 620 km southeast from Kingston (Jamaica) and 580 km southwest from Port-au-Prince (Haiti) off the north-west coast of Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea moving north west at 6 km/h, with maximum sustained winds of 240 km/h, according to the National Hurricane Center (NOAA). Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 35 km from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 335 km.

Two to four rainfall inches registered on 1 October in Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire; two to four inches in Colombia; one to two inches in Venezuela. Matthew is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 15 to 25 inches over southern Haiti, with possible isolated maximum amounts of 40 inches. This rainfall will likely produce life-threatening flash floods and mud slides.

National Preparedness Actions

• The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) continues to monitor the hurricane and provide updates. The Regional Coordination Plan remains activated and the Regional Response Mechanism (RRM) is still on standby. The CARICOM Disaster Relief Unit (CDRU), the CARICOM Disaster Assessment and Coordination (CDAC) team and CARICOM Operational Support Team (COST) have been stood down for the Eastern Caribbean, but remain on alert for the impending threat of hurricane Matthew in the north western Caribbean.

• OCHA is deploying United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) teams comprising assessment and information management specialists to Jamaica and Haiti respectively to support the United Nations and country teams.

• The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has pre-positioned personnel in Jamaica, Haiti and the Dominican Republic as well as stand-by staff and equipment.

• Humanitarian regional partners are monitoring the situation and are in contact with their sub-offices in the Caribbean. Several have supplies available in the UNHRD (Humanitarian Response Depot) in Panama.

• WFP country offices in Haiti, Dominican Republic and Cuba are monitoring and UNHRD stocks are available. WFP has an immediate response account if necessary and technical support teams that can be deployed in the region.

• The Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) is deploying teams to Jamaica and Bahamas, with additional staff on standby to support public health and medical needs.