At least 283 people in Haiti have died as a result of Hurricane Matthew, government officials announced Thursday evening as the storm prepared to strike southern Florida.
On Wednesday night, 22 people were reported dead by the Civil Protection Force of Haiti, but the death toll has dramatically increased since then and is expected to continue growing as the country digs out from the brutal storm.
An estimated 80 percent of homes in Jeremie, the main city on the peninsula, have been leveled.
The Category 3 hurricane was the most severe storm the Caribbean has seen in nearly a decade. Matthew has since strengthened into a Category 4 storm after moving off land and over the warm ocean waters of the Atlantic, and heads to Florida with potentially catastrophic winds of 140 mph, with stronger gusts.
The governors of Florida, George, and North and South Carolina have declared states of emergency.
