Hurricane Matthew Bears Down On The Caribbean
by Jessica Montevago and Daniel McCarthy /Photo: United States Naval Research Laboratory
Hurricane Matthew brought fierce winds and heavy rainfall to Haiti as it made landfall early Tuesday, threating the island nation, as well as other neighboring Caribbean countries.
Matthew slammed Haiti with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. The hurricane is being described as “catastrophic” for the impoverished country. The eye of the storm is next expected to hit eastern Cuba, near the province of Guantanamo, with storm surges of up to 11 feet on the southern coast and rainfall between 8 to 12 inches. The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning for southeastern Bahamas and parts of Cuba, while other parts of the Bahamas, Cuba and Turks and Caicos are under hurricane watch. Part of the Dominican Republic is also under a tropical storm warning.
According to the National Hurricane Center, “life-threatening flash floods and mudslides are likely from this rainfall in southern and northwestern Haiti, the southwestern Dominican Republic and eastern Cuba.” Those dangerous conditions are expected to last through the next five days.
Jamaica, which was placed on high alert, is now expected to be outside of the hurricane’s direct path, but will still experience tropical storm conditions.
The Category 4 storm is one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes to hit the Caribbean and Eastern seaboard in nearly a decade.
The path of Hurricane Matthew is expected to move along the East Coast. Florida Governor Rick Perry declared a state of emergency following tropical storm watches for much of South Florida and hurricane watches from south of Palm Beach County north to the Central Florida coast.
Delays and cancellations across the board
As the storm heads towards the Caribbean and Florida, airlines are dealing with an increasingly long list of delays and cancellations. A number of airlines have begun issuing waivers for travelers to change their flights without penalty.
United Airlines is offering a travel waiver for passengers traveling from Oct. 5 to 7, for Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Jacksonville, Orlando and West Palm Beach.
American Airlines is waiving the change fees on travel to the central Caribbean from Oct. 1 to 6 and on travel to the Bahamas with travel dates from Oct. 2 to 7.
Southwest Airlines, which canceled all Monday service to Jamaica, is letting any of its passengers on Montego Bay, Jamaica and Nassau, Bahamas flights scheduled from Oct. 2 to 5 to rebook without paying any additional charges.
Delta Air Lines is allowing passengers to make a one-time itinerary change to or from Hurricane-impacted areas on flights scheduled from Oct. 2 to 6.
JetBlue is waiving change and cancel fees, along with fare differences, for passengers flying between Oct. 2 and 6 to or from impacted cities.
Silver Airways is waiving change and cancel fees on Bahamas flights scheduled for Oct 4 and 5.
Cruise lines react
Port Canaveral and Port Miami both closed as south Florida prepares for Hurricane Matthew to make landfall tomorrow.
Ships scheduled to end sailings at Canaveral or Miami will have to stay at sea or head to another port. While no ships are scheduled at either port today, three ships are due in tomorrow—Carnival Victory in Canaveral and Carnival Sensation and Empress of the Seas in Miami.
Cruise lines have already altered the itineraries of a number of different ships, including Carnival Cruise Line’s Pride, which was supposed to sail to the Bahamas out of Baltimore on Sunday but headed north instead, is now spending three days at Pier 88 in New York Harbor because of the weather.
Caribbean resorts take precautions
Some of the island nations in Hurricane Matthew’s path are major tourist destinations for North Americans, and resorts in those areas are making the necessary preparations. Hoteliers across the Caribbean have activated their hurricane policies, including relocating guests, securing furniture and boarding up windows with plywood.
The Jewel Dunn's River Beach Resort & Spa, for example, reassured its hundreds of guests the property was structurally sound for the storm, but they should move to interior parts of their rooms away from windows.
In Florida, JP Oliver, vice president and managing director for The Confidante in Miami, said while an aggressive, preventative plan is in place it’s nothing people in South Florida aren’t used to. He said communication is key, keeping guests and staff updated every hour.
While October is the low season because of the chance of unpredictable weather, many travelers like to take advantage of the low rates. “Whenever clients ask me about travel to the region in the fall I let them know why the rates are so low, the storm risks involved, and the tradeoffs of having rain or worse on their beach vacation,” said Rob Stern, of RobPlansYourTrip.com in Raleigh, NC. Stern said he suggests a travel insurance plan to his clients to protect themselves in case of the worst.
“Most of them still go ahead with their plans, as my Bermuda anniversary weekend travelers are later this month. I let clients know it's all about risk tolerance. Some clients like the value of deal so much, they take the gamble. For others it's the only time they can get away, or the only way they can stay at a five star resort, or get a suite on a cruise ship.”