ORLANDO
– Matthew, the
first major hurricane threatening a direct hit on the United States in more than
10 years, blasted the Bahamas on Thursday as it headed for Florida after
killing at least 140 people in the Caribbean, mostly in Haiti.

Matthew,
carrying winds of 140 mph (220 kph), pounded the northwestern part of the
island chain en route to Florida’s Atlantic coast, the U.S. National Hurricane
Center (NHC) said.

The
storm was likely to remain a Category 4 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale
of hurricane intensity as it approached the United States, where it could
either take direct aim at Florida or tear along the state’s coast through
Friday night, the center said, warning of “potentially disastrous
impacts.”

Hurricane
conditions were expected in parts of Florida later on Thursday and a dangerous
storm surge is expected to reach up to 11 feet (3.35 meters) along the Florida
coast, Ed Rappaport, deputy director of the Miami-based NHC, said on CNN.

“What
we know is that most of the lives lost in hurricanes is due to storm
surge,” he said.

Some
136 people were killed in Haiti, local officials said, and thousands were
displaced after the storm flattened homes, uprooted trees and inundated
neighborhoods earlier in the week. Four people were killed in the Dominican
Republic, which neighbors Haiti.

As
the storm passed near the Bahamas capital of Nassau, howling gusts of wind
brought down palms and other trees and ripped shingles off the rooftops of many
houses. The eye of the hurricane was later poised to move over or near Freeport
in the Bahamas.

It
was too soon to predict where Matthew might do the most of its damage in the
United States, but the NHC’s hurricane warning extended up the Atlantic coast
from southern Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina. More than 12
million people in the United States were under hurricane watches and warnings,
according to the Weather Channel.

The
last major hurricane, classified as a storm bearing sustained winds of more
than 110 mph (177 kph), to make landfall on U.S. shores was Hurricane Wilma in
2005.

Roads
in Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina were jammed, and gas stations
and food stores ran out of supplies as the storm approached.

Florida
Governor Rick Scott warned there could be “catastrophic” damage if
Matthew slammed directly into the state and urged some 1.5 million people there
to evacuate.

“If
you’re reluctant to evacuate, just think about all the people… already
killed,” Scott said at a news conference. “Time is running out. This is
clearly either going to have a direct hit or come right along the coast.”

Scott,
who activated several thousand National Guard troops to help deal with the
storm, warned that millions of people were likely to be left without power.

Florida,
Georgia and South Carolina opened shelters for evacuees. As of Thursday
morning, more than 3,000 people were being housed in 60 shelters in Florida,
Scott said.

Those
three states as well as North Carolina declared states of emergency, empowering
their governors to mobilize the National Guard.

President
Barack Obama called the governors of the four states on Thursday to discuss preparations
for the storm. He declared a state of emergency in Florida and South Carolina,
a move that authorized federal agencies to coordinate disaster relief efforts.