The death toll in Haiti as a result of Hurricane Matthew has soared to 300 , the senator from the region of Port-Au-Prince says. The peninsula's main city, Jeremie, saw 80 per cent of its buildings levelled. In Sud province 30,000 homes were destroyed.<br/><br/>Hurricane Matthew, the fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade slammed into the Bahamas yesterday. The storm intensified as it barreled towards the southeast coast where millions of residents heeded warnings to flee inland. With winds of 125mph, it is expected to hit Florida today. More than two million people have been evacuated from the coastal areas of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. North Carolina could also be affected as the storm moves north.<br/><br/>Matthew has since been upgraded from a category three to a category four storm while en route to Florida's Atlantic coast. The US National Hurricane Centre has extended its hurricane warning area farther north into Georgia and more than 12 million US residents were under hurricane watches and warnings.<br/><br/>President Barack Obama yesterday declared a federal state of emergency in Florida as Hurricane Matthew's powerful winds began to be felt along the state's southeast coast.<br/><br/>A local senator told AFP that at least 400 people died as Hurricane Matthew leveled huge swaths of Haiti's south. Herve Fourcand, a senator for the Sud department, which felt the full force of the impact, said he had so far recorded 400 deaths with several localities still inaccessible. The civil protection agency for the Sud told AFP that it has recorded 315 deaths, with at least four towns still to report back on local fatalities.

The death toll in Haiti as a result of Hurricane Matthew has soared to 300 , the senator from the region of Port-Au-Prince says. The peninsula's main city, Jeremie, saw 80 per cent of its buildings levelled. In Sud province 30,000 homes were destroyed.<br/><br/>Hurricane Matthew, the fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade slammed into the Bahamas yesterday. The storm intensified as it barreled towards the southeast coast where millions of residents heeded warnings to flee inland. With winds of 125mph, it is expected to hit Florida today. More than two million people have been evacuated from the coastal areas of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. North Carolina could also be affected as the storm moves north.<br/><br/>Matthew has since been upgraded from a category three to a category four storm while en route to Florida's Atlantic coast. The US National Hurricane Centre has extended its hurricane warning area farther north into Georgia and more than 12 million US residents were under hurricane watches and warnings.<br/><br/>President Barack Obama yesterday declared a federal state of emergency in Florida as Hurricane Matthew's powerful winds began to be felt along the state's southeast coast.

The most powerful Caribbean storm in a decade, Hurricane Matthew, lashed Florida today with heavy rains and winds after killing more than 300 people in Haiti. Winds gusts of up to 100 kilometer per hour and heavy downpours were reported in several coastal communities in Florida. <br/><br/>More than two million people have been evacuated from the coastal areas of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. North Carolina could also be affected as the storm moves north.According to Florida Governor Rick Scott, more than 140,000 Florida households were without power. President Barack Obama has declared a state of emergency for Florida and South Carolina.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, the death toll in Haiti has risen to more than 300. According to reports most of the deaths were in towns and fishing villages around the southern coast, with many killed by falling trees, flying debris and swollen rivers. About 30,000 homes were destroyed in Sud province and in the nearby city of Jeremie 80 percent of its buildings were levelled. The destruction also caused damages to the crops. <br/><br/>Deputy Mayor of Chantal, Marc Soniel Noel said, nothing is left to survive on, all the crops have been damaged and all fruit trees are down.The United Nations says nearly 6 million Haitians have been affected by the storm with 350,000 people needing immediate aid. Matthew also caused widespread destruction on Cuba.