Hurricane Matthew pounds Cuba after drenching Haiti

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Hurricane Matthew’s strong winds pounded Cuba on Tuesday night even as the powerful storm took its last lashes at Haiti, where it downed trees, drenched the ground with feet of rain and flooded streets.

The damage was especially brutal in southern Haiti, where sustained winds of 130 mph continued to punish the impoverished island nation even as the eye of the storm crossed eastern Cuba.

The “extremely dangerous” storm has killed at least seven people, including four in Haiti’s neighbor, the Dominican Republic.

Haiti: a nation sadly familiar with hurricanes and earthquakes

Officials feared a high death toll in Haiti.

“We’ve already seen deaths. People who were out at sea. There are people who are missing. They are people who didn’t respect the alerts. They’ve lost their lives,” Interim Haitian President Jocelerme Privert said at a news conference.

Heavy rain throughout the day caused Haitian waterways to swell.

“The river has overflowed all around us,” church pastor Louis St. Germain said. “It’s terrible … a total disaster.”

People wade through floodwaters with a boat in Nichols, South Carolina, on Monday, October 10. Hurricane Matthew caused flooding and damage in the Southeast -- from Florida to North Carolina -- after slamming Haiti and other countries in the Caribbean.

Workers repair downed power lines in Daytona Beach, Florida, on October 10.

Rescue teams maneuver through floodwaters in Lumberton, North Carolina, on October 10. President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster in North Carolina and ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts.

Floodwaters inundate a home in Lumberton on October 10.

Floodwaters surround a house in Nichols, South Carolina, on October 10.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley checks flooding near Nichols on October 10.

Floodwaters surround power lines near Nichols on October 10.

Without power in the hurricane's aftermath, Missy Zinc shines a light so her husband, Shawn, can prepare steaks to grill in Hilton Head, South Carolina, on Sunday, October 9.

Anthony Writebol, left, and his cousin Melissa Hill paddle past a stranded tractor-trailer in Lumberton on October 9.

A man clings to a road sign after trying to swim out to help a stranded truck driver in Hope Mills, North Carolina, on October 9. Both were rescued.

People stop and take pictures of Highway 58, which was flooded in Nashville, North Carolina, on October 9.

Boats are pushed up among twisted docks in Hilton Head on October 9.

Rescue workers help several dogs that were trapped in homes in Pinetops, North Carolina, on October 9.

A section of Wayne Memorial Drive was washed out in Goldsboro, North Carolina.

John Tweedy wades into the swift-moving floodwaters surrounding his business in McClellanville, South Carolina, on Saturday, October 8.

A woman who gave her name only as Valerie walks along flooded President Street after leaving her homeless camp in Savannah, Georgia, on October 8.

Volunteers clear debris from from a pool at a condominium complex in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, on October 8.

A police officer steps through the remnants of a home leveled by Hurricane Matthew in the tiny beach community of Edisto Beach, South Carolina, on October 8.

A downed tree and power lines block a road on Georgia's St. Simons Island on October 8.

A woman fights the wind in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, on October 8.

Parts of Highway A1A in Flagler Beach, Florida, were washed away by Hurricane Matthew on Friday, October 7.

Water flows over a seawall and fills the streets of St. Augustine, Florida, on October 7.

Barbara Hearst tapes her storm shutters as Hurricane Matthew nears Charleston, South Carolina, on October 7.

Adam and Alec Selent watch waves crash over a retainer wall at the Ocean Club condominiums in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, on October 7.

A damaged boat sits partially submerged on the intercoastal waterway in Melbourne, Florida, on October 7.

A police officer helps persuade a woman to board a bus and evacuate Savannah, Georgia, on October 7.

Preston Payne tries to hold his umbrella on Georgia's Tybee Island on October 7.

Heavy waves pound boat docks in Cocoa Beach, Florida, on October 7.

A women helps a dog walk through floodwaters in Port Orange, Florida, on October 7.

Damage in Cocoa Beach.

Waves crash against a bridge in St. Augustine, Florida.

A car drives past a downed tree as the hurricane moves through Daytona Beach, Florida, on October 7.

A billboard canvas flaps in the wind after Hurricane Matthew passed North Palm Beach, Florida, on October 7.

A woman inspects her damaged car under a tree in Fort Pierce, Florida, on October 7.

A space shuttle model stands near some downed trees after Hurricane Matthew passed by Cocoa Beach.

A woman uses her phone under a battery-operated lantern at a hotel in Titusville, Florida, on October 7.

Palm trees on Cocoa Beach sway in the wind on October 7.

Firefighters respond to a pre-dawn house fire in Satellite Beach, Florida, that was possibly caused by a downed power line on October 7.

Heavy rain billows in front of Exploration Tower in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on October 7.

People stand on a beach in Broward County, Florida, as the storm approached the coast on Thursday, October 6.

A police officer walks along the beach in Singer Island, Florida, on October 6.

Kevin Forde and John Haughey put plywood on a Miami Beach window on October 6.

Hurricane Matthew moves through Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas, on October 6. Capt. Stephen Russell, the head of the Bahamas National Emergency Management Authority, said there were many downed trees and power lines but no reports of casualties.

People leave Disney's Magic Kingdom theme park, in heavy rain, after it closed in Orlando, Florida in preparation for the landfall of Hurricane Matthew, on October 6.

A man rakes up debris from a storm drain as he begins cleanup near a damaged gas station in Nassau on October 6.

Residents repair their homes in Les Cayes, Haiti, on October 6. The damage from Hurricane Matthew was especially brutal in southern Haiti, where sustained winds of 130 mph punished the country.

Girls hold hands as they help each other wade through a flooded street in Les Cayes on October 6.

Two days after the storm, authorities and aid workers in Haiti still lacked a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years.

A supermarket shelf is nearly cleared out in Titusville, Florida, on Wednesday, October 5.

Bumper-to-bumper traffic lines Interstate 26 in Columbia, South Carolina, as people drive west on October 5.

Workers start removing umbrellas and the colorful rocking chairs that line the Cocoa Beach Pier in Cocoa Beach, Florida, on October 5.

People carry a coffin and try to cross the La Digue river on October 5 after a bridge collapsed in Petit-Goave, Haiti.

People cross the La Digue river on October 5.

Evacuees return to their homes in the Carbonera community of Guantanamo, Cuba, on October 5.

People embrace at their damaged home in Baracoa, Cuba. The hurricane rolled across the sparsely populated tip of Cuba, destroying dozens of homes in the country's easternmost city and leaving hundreds of others damaged.

A woman cries amid the rubble of her home in Baracoa.

Bus drivers in North Charleston, South Carolina, wait for word to start evacuations.

The high winds of Hurricane Matthew roar over Baracoa on Tuesday, October 4.

Beth Johnson fills up her car at a gas station in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, on October 4.

The mother of two girls who died in the storm is comforted near her home in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on October 4. The girls were killed when a landslide caused by flooding breached the walls of their house.

A worker clears a sewer on a flooded street in Santo Domingo.

Anita Baranyi feeds her baby while keeping an eye on the generator she intends to purchase from a home-improvement store in Oakland Park, Florida, on October 4.

People wade through the flooded streets of Cite Soleil in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on October 4. Hurricane Matthew is the strongest storm to hit Haiti since 1964 and the first hurricane to make landfall in the country since the devastating earthquake in 2010.

People observe the flooding of a river near Port-au-Prince on October 4.

Children swim in a flooded neighborhood of Santo Domingo on October 4.

A truck used as public transportation drives through flooded streets in Port-au-Prince on October 4.

Hurricane winds blow against palm trees in Port-au-Prince.

A food vendor lays out goods for sale during a light rain in Port-au-Prince on October 4.

Haitian civil protection workers arrive to evacuate the Tabarre region of Haiti on October 3.

Officials urge residents to evacuate their homes in the Grise River area of Tabarre on October 3.

Clouds loom over the hills of the Petionville suburb of Port-au-Prince on October 3.

Families seek shelter from Hurricane Matthew at a university facility in Guantanamo, Cuba.

People near Kingston, Jamaica, take a photo in front of the rough surf produced by Hurricane Matthew on October 3.

A backhoe removes garbage to clear a canal in Port-au-Prince on October 3.

Nice Simon, the mayor of Tabarre, Haiti, holds a baby as she helps evacuate the area along a river.

People stock up on food at a supermarket in Port-au-Prince on Sunday, October 2.

A worker dismantles a traffic light in Santiago before Hurricane Matthew struck Cuba.

Motorists drive through heavy rains in Kingston, Jamaica, on October 2.

Residents of Cuba's Holguin Province line up to buy gas on October 2.

A worker nails a board to a storefront window in Kingston on Saturday, October 1.

Hurricane Matthew's path of destruction

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St. Germain, who spoke to CNN on the phone from Les Cayes, Haiti, said the storm sheared a wall off his house and tore roofs off many buildings in the area.

And in a significant setback for emergency responders and aid relief efforts, the bridge that connected Port-au-Prince with southern Haiti collapsed.

There are reports of communications towers being affected by downed trees and officials are worried it will hamper the emergency response.

Matthew was moving across Cuba on its way to the Bahamas.

The Category 4 hurricane made landfall near Les Anglais, Haiti, around 7 a.m. ET, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Up to 40 inches of rain could be dumped Haiti, which is still recovering from a devastating 2010 earthquake and a cholera outbreak.

River levels rise

Les Cayes Mayor Jean Gabriel Fortuné said Tuesday morning the storm was slamming into his city. He posted videos on social media that showed wind whipping through trees as heavy rains pelted people on the streets.

The United Nations mission in Haiti shared a photo of people wading through water in a flooded street there.

Witnesses also reported streets flooding in the capital of Port-au-Prince. Leogane was also hit hard.

As Matthew soaked Haiti and Cuba, the Bahamas and the United States took steps to prepare for the storm’s arrival in the coming days.

Along the US East Coast governors in four states declared states of emergency and two told residents to prepare for possible evacuations. Florida Gov. Rick Scott was particularly blunt, telling residents to prepare for the state quite possibly taking a direct hit.

Death toll rising

Seven people have died in incidents connected to Hurricane Matthew within the past week, authorities said.

Four people in the Dominican Republic died, the government announced, without providing any details about how the victims passed away.

In Haiti, Guillaume Albert Moleon, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said one fisherman died on Sunday. A second fisherman is presumed dead, but the body has not been recovered.

In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a teenager died in a landslide as he was cleaning a drain behind his house, according to Michelle Forbes, deputy director for the National Emergency Management Office. The boy died Wednesday after storms from Matthew passed.

The hurricane could cause further devastation for Haiti as much of the country’s infrastructure remains weak after the 2010 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people.

More than 300,000 people are in shelters across the country, the United Nations said.

After the storm clears Haiti, residents could face risks from another threat: standing water.

“That means a potential spike in cholera cases,” said John Hasse, the humanitarian aid agency World Vision’s national director in Haiti. “Other mosquito-borne diseases that have been more or less controlled are going to rear their heads.”

Haiti is still recovering from a post-quake cholera outbreak that killed 10,000 people.

How to help those affected

Collision course for Cuba

Forecasters said Matthew could dump up to 20 inches of rain in Cuba.

The United States, taking no chances, airlifted 700 family members of military personnel stationed at Guantanamo Bay to Florida. The 61 detainees held by the United States as alleged enemy combatants will not be evacuated, officials added.

After skirting Cuba, Matthew is expected to hit the Bahamas and turn toward the United States. It should lose some strength, but still have 115 mph winds.

Journalist Yvetot Gouin and CNN’s Deborah Bloom, Alexander Leininger, Alison Daye, Natalie Gallon, Holly Yan, Steve Visser and Patrick Oppmann contributed to this report.