PHOTOS: Hurricane Matthew Kills Over 108 people

Hurricane Matthew churned toward the Bahamas and Florida's east coast on Wednesday after killing at least 21 people in Haiti and prompting the hard-hit country to postpone a long-awaited presidential election.

The hurricane, the fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade, whipped Cuba and Haiti with 140 mile-per-hour (230 kph) winds and torrential rains on Tuesday, pummeling towns and destroying livestock, crops and homes.

Hundreds of thousands of people had been evacuated from the path of the Matthew, which caused severe flooding and killed four people in the Dominican Republic as well as at least 21 in Haiti. The two countries share the island of Hispaniola.

 The storm carved a path of devastation through western Haiti, dumping boats and debris on coastal roads hit by surging seas and heavily flooding residential areas.

Matthew was a Category 4 hurricane through Tuesday but was downgraded to still powerful Category 3 early on Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, had been set to hold a repeatedly-postponed presidential election on Sunday, but the country's electoral council delayed it again in the aftermath of Matthew. No new date has yet been set.

 The storm had sustained winds of about 120 miles per hour (195 kph) on Wednesday afternoon but the NHC said it could strengthen over warm waters as it approaches Florida.

 "Everyone in our state must prepare now for a direct hit," Florida Governor Scott told a news conference in Tallahassee. "If Matthew directly impacts Florida, the destruction could be catastrophic and you need to be prepared."

 It was difficult to assess the full extent of Matthew's impact in Haiti because it knocked out communications in many of the worst-affected areas, including the main bridge that links much of the country to the southwest peninsula.

 The death toll in Haiti included at least eight people killed by falling trees and six others swept away by swollen rivers, authorities said.
Mourad Wahba, the U.N. secretary-general's deputy special representative for Haiti, said much of the population had been displaced by Matthew and at least 14,000 were in shelter.

 350,000 people needed immediate assistance. Haiti was a particular concern because it is prone to mudslides due to extensive deforestation and tens of thousands of people are still living in tents and makeshift dwellings after the 2010 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people.