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ByDavidMcFadden The Associated Press PETIT-GOAVE, HAITI Hur- ricane Matthew slammed into Haiti's southwestern tip with howling, 145 mph winds Tuesday, tearing off roofs in the poor and largely rural area, uprooting trees and leaving rivers bloated and choked with debris. At least nine deaths were blamed on the storm during its week-long march across the Caribbean. Forecasters said Matthew could hit Florida toward the end of the week and push its way up the East Coast over the weekend. The forecast triggered a rush by Amer- icans to stock up on food, gasoline and other emer- gency supplies. The dangerous Category 4 storm — at one point the most powerful hurricane in the region in nearly a de- cade — blew ashore around dawn in the poorest coun- try in the Western Hemi- sphere, hitting a corner of Haiti where many people live in shacks of wood or concrete blocks. It unloaded heavy rain as it swirled on toward a lightly populated part of Cuba and the Baha- mas. Damage in the hardest- hit part of Haiti appeared to be widespread, but be- cause of poor communica- tions, blocked roads and washed-out bridges, the full extent was not immediately clear. Nor was the number of deaths. The country's Civil Pro- tection Agency said many homes were damaged or destroyed. And people had to wade through flooded streets to rescue their be- longings and find higher ground. "It's the worst hurricane that I've seen during my life," said Fidele Nicolas, a civil protection official in Nippes, just east of where Matthew came ashore. "It destroyed schools, roads, other structures." At least three deaths were blamed on the storm in Haiti, including one person whose home was crushed by a tree in Port Salut and a 26-year-old man who drowned trying to rescue a child who had fallen into a rushing river, authorities said. The child was saved. Four deaths were re- corded in the neighboring Dominican Republic and one each in Colombia and in St. Vincent and the Gren- adines. The storm left the pen- insula that runs along the southern coast of Haiti cut off from the rest of the coun- try. Many streets were im- passable because of flood- ing, landslides or fallen trees. Local radio reported that the water was shoulder high in parts of the city of Les Cayes. Milriste Nelson, a 65-year-old farmer in the town of Leogane, said his neighbors fled when the wind ripped the corrugated metal roof from their home. His own small yard was strewn with the fruit he de- pends on for his livelihood. "All the banana trees, all the mangos, everything is gone," Nelson said as he boiled breadfruit over a charcoal fire in the gray morning light. "This coun- try is going to fall deeper into misery." Haitian authorities had tried to evacuate people from the most vulnerable areas ahead of the storm, but many were reluctant to leave their homes. Some sought shelter only after the worst was already upon them. "Many people are now asking for help, but it's too late because there is no way to go evacuate them," said Fonie Pierre, director of Catholic Relief Services for the Les Cayes area, who was huddled in her office with about 20 people. Matthew was expected to bring 15 to 25 inches of rain, and up to 40 inches (100 centimeters) in iso- lated places, along with up to 10 feet (3 meters) of storm surge and battering waves. "They are getting every- thing a major hurricane can throw at them," said Den- nis Feltgen, a meteorologist with the U.S. National Hur- ricane Center in Miami. Matthew briefly reached the top classification, Cate- gory 5, as it moved across the Caribbean late last week, becoming the stron- gest hurricane in the region since Felix in 2007. As of 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), the storm was cen- tered about 55 miles (90 ki- lometers) southwest of the eastern tip of Cuba. It was moving north near 10 mph (17 kph). The center of the storm was projected to pass about 50 miles northeast of the U.S. naval base at Guanta- namo Bay, Cuba. Workers in Cuba re- moved traffic lights from poles in the city of Santi- ago to keep them from get- ting blown away. In the U.S., Florida Gov. Rick Scott urged coastal residents to prepare for the possibility of a direct hit and line up three days' worth of food, water and medicine. The Red Cross put out a call for volunteers in South Carolina. And the White House said relief sup- plies were being moved to emergency staging areas in the Southeast. "We do not know yet whether the center of Mat- thew will actually come ashore in Florida. That's possible," said Rick Knabb, director of the hurricane center. Americans raced to su- permarkets, gas stations and hardware stores, buy- ing up groceries, water, ply- wood, tarps, batteries and propane. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said she would issue an evacuation order Wednesday so that 1 million people would have time to leave the coast. As dawn broke, people in the Haitian tourist town of Port Salut described howl- ing winds and big waves slamming the beaches and washing over the coastal road. "The winds are making so many bad noises. We're just doing our best to stay calm," said Jenniflore Des- rosiers as she huddled with her family in her fragile cin- derblock home, which had sprung numerous leaks from the rain. The few places that were on the electrical grid had apparently lost power, and cellphone service was spotty. TROPICAL WEATHER HurricaneMatthewslamsHaiti,takesaimatUSEastCoast NOAA The GOES East satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and taken Tuesday at 1:12p.m. EDT, shows Hurricane Matthew over the Caribbean region. By Bassem Mroue The Associated Press BEIRUT ForcesbackingSyr- ian President Bashar Assad pressed their offensive Tues- day on Aleppo's rebel-held zone from the south, after capturing areas on other fronts in recent days. As re- inforcementsarrived,includ- ing Shiite fighters from Iraq, thestrategyappearedtobeto retake rebel-held areas bit by bit, backed by massive Rus- sian airpower, rather than risk a potentially costly all- out ground battle. Tuesday's offensive on the city's besieged rebel-held easternneighborhoodscame a day after Washington sus- pended direct U.S.-Russian talks on a Syria cease-fire — amoveU.S.SecretaryofState John Kerry blamed on Rus- sia'srejectionofdiplomacyin favor of helping Assad's gov- ernment achieve a military victory over the rebels. The latest tactic of whit- tlingawayatrebel-heldareas ofAlepporatherthanlaunch- ing an all-out offensive has provedsuccessfulinthepast: The government reasserted control of the suburbs of the capital, Damascus, and most ofthecentralcityofHomsus- ing the strategy. "The Syrian army and its alliesareinasustainedoffen- sive to recapture rebel-held eastern Aleppo," wrote Rob- ert Ford, a veteran diplomat and former ambassador to Syria."Unlessthebalanceon the ground drastically shifts, the Assad regime will even- tuallyretakefromopposition fighters all of Aleppo and the outlying districts of Damas- cus," wrote Ford, a fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington. "This may take months, but the balance is certainly in the Syrian gov- ernment's favor." "Aleppois...theSyriancri- sis and its liberation will end planstodivideSyria,"agreed Amin Hoteit, a former Leba- nesearmygeneralandexpert on military and strategic af- fairs. Syrian troops and their allies have laid siege to rebel- held parts of Aleppo since July17,exceptforafewweeks when the militants were able to break it in August, until it was re-imposed in early Sep- tember. CIVIL WAR Syrian government press in their offensive on rebel-held zone This could be your lucky day by helping a dog or cat find a loving home from... Paws & Claws ADOPT A PET TODAY Nala AdSponsorsh ip $ 32 Call Suzy at (530) 737-5056 TEHAMACOUNTYDEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL SERVICES 1830WalnutStreet P.O. Box 38 • Red Bluff, CA 96080 (530) 527-3439 CORNING ANIMAL SHELTER 4312 Rawson Rd. Corning, CA 96021 (530) 824-7054 Select"Subscribe"tabin lower right corner Complete information for automatic weekly delivery to your email inbox That's it! FREE online subscription to TV Select Magazine Digital edition emailed to you, every Saturday! 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