Story highlights
NEW: Eye makes landfall in Cuba as storm heads toward Bahamas
Major bridge in Haiti wiped out by storm; Four dead in Dominican Republic
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(CNN) —
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.
In Haiti, where Matthew made landfall Tuesday as a Category 4 hurricane, the storm has passed but the aftermath has just begun, prompting an influx of international aid.
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.”
Photos: Hurricane Matthew's path of destruction
PHOTO:
Rainier Ehrhardt/AP
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.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew's path of destruction
PHOTO:
Joe Burbank/AP
Workers repair downed power lines in Daytona Beach, Florida, on October 10.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew's path of destruction
PHOTO:
Sean Rayford/Getty Images
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.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew's path of destruction
PHOTO:
Sean Rayford/Getty Images
Floodwaters inundate a home in Lumberton on October 10.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew's path of destruction
PHOTO:
Rainier Ehrhardt/AP
Floodwaters surround a house in Nichols, South Carolina, on October 10.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew's path of destruction
PHOTO:
Rainier Ehrhardt/AP
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley checks flooding near Nichols on October 10.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew's path of destruction
PHOTO:
Rainier Ehrhardt/AP
Floodwaters surround power lines near Nichols on October 10.
Photos: Hurricane Matthew's path of destruction
PHOTO:
David Goldman/AP
Without power in the hurricane's aftermath, Missy Zinc shines a light so her husband, Shawn, can prepare steaks to g
