Hurricane Matthew, described as the biggest storm in the Atlantic for nearly a decade, continues to bear down on Jamaica and Haiti.

Bermuda residents in Jamaica yesterday spoke of their anxiety, with the Category 4 storm packing maximum sustained winds of 140mph in the evening.

Matthew briefly attained Category 5 force, topping the Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity, making it the region’s most powerful storm since Hurricane Felix in 2007.

Marguerita Carter, a Jamaica national who has lived and worked in Bermuda for 12 years, was due to return here from Jamaica today but could not travel due to the storm. She said she was with her family helping to secure their property.

“I am with my mom, brother and father in the parish of Hanover,” the sales and advertising professional told The Royal Gazette.

“Initially there is always the anxiety. We thought it was moving away and we were feeling a bit more confident but then they said it is swaying back towards the west where I am. People were scurrying around yesterday trying to get supplies. Today people are more concerned about moving away from low lying areas neighbours are helping each other. Even if we do not get the heart of the hurricane we will get lots of rain there are a lot of warnings about flooding.

“We are having to secure the vehicles to make sure they are parked in a good position and make sure there is nothing lying around in the yard and we are removing fruit from the trees. The most important thing that we have done is putting sand bags in the entrance to the doorways in case the water does come up in the flooding.

“We are expecting to lose power; we got an advisory from the Jamaica Public Service Company saying they will try to keep it on for as long as possible but if the winds get too strong they will have to cut it off.

“I don’t know if I will be able to make it back to Bermuda before Wednesday.”

Orville Campbell, president for the Jamaican Association in Bermuda, said: “We are keeping an eye on it and, indeed, liaising with families and friends during its passage to get updates on occurrences.”

In Haiti, where life-threatening rain is expected, residents have been evacuated from high-risk areas. Matthew is also a threat to Cuba, the Bahamas and South Florida — but not Bermuda. Concerns were echoed yesterday by Michael Dunkley, for islands in the immediate path of “very dangerous” weather.

“Our thoughts are with those in Jamaica, Haiti, the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos and Cuba; please be safe,” the Premier said. “Be assured that Bermuda is certainly monitoring Hurricane Matthew, and is prepared to provide assistance if necessary.”

Matthew’s slow pace, combined with high winds and capacity to unleash flood-force rains, poses a particularly serious risk to Haiti, ranked as the poorest country in the Americas.

At 6am, the storm packed maximum sustained winds of 130mph, with gusts of 160mph. According to the National Hurricane Centre, Matthew was about 230 miles south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica.