Major Hurricane Matthew is slowly churning northward across the Caribbean and meteorologists say the powerful storm is expected to approach Jamaica and southwest Haiti by Monday night.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says the dangerous Category 4 storm has top sustained winds near 130 mph (215 kph).
A 2 a.m. hurricane center update said the eye of Matthew is about 310 miles (500 kilometers) southwest of Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, and about 245 miles (395 kilometers) south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. The storm is moving to the north at 5 mph (7 kph).
A hurricane warning is in effect for Jamaica, Haiti, and the Cuban provinces of Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, Granma and Las Tunas — as well as the southeastern Bahamas. A hurricane watch is in effect for the Cuban province of Camaguey, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Central Bahamas.
A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Dominican Republic from Barahona westward to the border with Haiti and a tropical storm watch is in effect for the Dominican Republic from Puerto Plata west to the border with Haiti.
LOCAL FAMILY WORRIES ABOUT ORPHANAGE
News of the hurricane is especially upsetting for a local family who spent years building an orphanage in Haiti. Workers at the orphanage tell FOX25's Stephanie Coueignoux that the rain has already begun falling.
"Be Like Brit" was built in honor of Massachusetts native Britney Gengel, who was killed in the 2010 earthquake in Haiti while she was on a mission trip.
Six years later, many in Haiti are still living in tent cities and the orphanage is doing all they can ahead of the storm. They've already taken in 30 women and children from the local village.
The "Be Like Brit" orphanage has already activated their emergency plan and staff say they're preparing for what could be devastating conditions.
With up to 40 inches of rain expected, director Jonathon Lamare says his biggest concern is spreading the word about the powerful hurricane.
"People don't even know there is a hurricane coming," Lamare said. "there is no system in place to alert them...there's a lack of knowledge of the coming storm."
For now, Lamare says they are busy boarding up windows, filling generators and gathering food and first aid kits.