UN closely monitoring Hurricane Matthew

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) continues to monitor hurricane Matthew closely as Matthew -- now classified as Category 4 -- is expected to reach Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and the Bahamas on Monday, a UN spokesman said here.

In Haiti, the national authorities expect 20 percent of the population -- some 2 million people -- to be affected, Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, told reporters, adding that a United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination team has arrived in the small island country.

In Jamaica, some 150,000 people could be displaced due to the impact of the hurricane, he said.

"Pre-positioning of relief supplies and emergency resources has started, and an UN team has also arrived to support the national preparedness efforts," he added.

Hurricane Matthew has formed and is first ever Hurricane Matthew in the Atlantic. Other storms have been called Matthew, but none have reached hurricane status. The last storm named Mathew, in 2006, hit Central America and caused over 100 fatalities.

Tropical Storm Matthew was the fourth and deadliest tropical cyclone to make landfall in Central America during the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season. Matthew, despite being a tropical storm, proved to be destructive.

Throughout Central and South America, torrential rain produced by Matthew triggered widespread flooding and landslides in 2010, when eight people were killed by the storm in Venezuela, and at least 100 people have been confirmed dead throughout Central America and southern Mexico. Enditem