Hurricane Matthew roars ashore in Haiti sparking evacuation fears for the U.S. as 'the biggest storm in 24 years' makes a path for Florida and the Carolinas. The outer bands of powerful Hurricane Matthew drenched Haiti on Monday, flooding streets and sending people scrambling to emergency shelters as the Category 4 storm threatened to hit the hemisphere's poorest nation overnight with life-threatening winds and rain. In Haiti, 430,000 people have been moved from the southeast coast, and the Dominican Republic relocated 13,000, according to the Miami Herald. Parts of Cuba are expected to receive up to 20 inches of rainfall. 'You could see a death toll in the thousands,' Colorado State University meteorologist Phil Klotzbach said of Haiti because of rains. Seven hundred military family members were evacuated from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba over the weekend, said the US Department of Defense. The Department of State has authorized family members of US government employees to depart the Bahamas, and has issued a travel warning for the area. 'If Matthew directly impacts Florida,' he said, 'there will be massive destruction we have not seen in years, comparable to what we saw in Hurricane Andrew,' he said, according to the Miami Herald. Hurricane Andrew, which hit in August 1992, killed 65 people and is still the fifth costliest hurricane in US history. If the storm changes track, it could hit the Sunshine state as early as Wednesday and last through Saturday, according to the National Hurricane Center. There are currently no evacuation orders for Florida. Strong winds from the storm may be able to be felt in North Carolina on Thursday night and Friday morning, said Governor Pat McCrory, who has declared a state of emergency in 66 counties in eastern and central parts of the state. Matthew had sustained winds of 140 mph (220 kph) Monday evening, up from 130 mph (210 kph) earlier in the day. Its center was expected to pass near or over the southwestern tip of impoverished Haiti on Tuesday morning before heading to eastern Cuba, the US National Hurricane Center in Miami said. 'We are looking at a dangerous hurricane that is heading into the vicinity of western Haiti and eastern Cuba,' said Richard Pasch, a senior hurricane specialist with the center. 'People who are impacted by things like flooding and mudslides hopefully would get out and relocate because that's where we have seen loss of life in the past.'