PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) — Hurricane Matthew meandered through the Caribbean yesterday, moving more slowly but still packing a powerful punch, its sights set on Haiti and Cuba.

Matthew’s movement slowed from five to just three miles per hour as it ambled from the Caribbean coast of Colombia and Venezuela, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said yesterday.

Caribbean authorities were scrambling to put preparations in place.

In Cuba, President Raul Castro travelled to the south-eastern city of Santiago to personally oversee emergency operations just hours before the hurricane was due to hit.

Matthew had the potential to be a storm for the ages, he warned residents.

“This is a hurricane; it’s necessary to prepare for as if it were twice as powerful as Sandy,” the Cuban leader said, referring to the megastorm that hit with massive destructive force in 2012.

Officials at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba announced a mandatory evacuation for all non-essential personnel and family members.

The evacuation “happened early this morning, and it’s still ongoing”, an official at the base told AFP yesterday.

Briefly a furious Category 5 hurricane late Friday, Matthew remains a still-dangerous Category 4, the strongest to hit the Caribbean since Hurricane Felix in 2007.

“Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion,” the NHC warned in its latest advisory yesterday.

On its current forecast track, Matthew’s centre will glance past Jamaica today, dumping heavy rain on the island as it makes landfall on Haiti.

The storm is then expected to continue north, tearing across southern and eastern Cuba between today and tomorrow as it heads toward The Bahamas.

Forecasts predict the hurricane will dump 15 to 25 inches (40-60 centimetres) of rain over southern Haiti, “with possible isolated maximum amounts of 40 inches”.

The storm is also expected to drop 10 to 20 inches of rain over eastern Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and eastern Cuba, “with possible isolated maximum amounts of 25 inches”.

“This rainfall will likely produce life-threatening flash floods and mud slides,” the NHC warned.

In Haiti, the authorities increased the alert level from orange to the maximum red late Saturday.

The poorest country in the Americas is home to almost 11 million people, many living in fragile housing.

The Haitian officials urged southern island residents to prepare, warning that they were “first at risk”.

“We invite them to secure the area surrounding their homes and begin to stock up on water and food,” said Edgar Celestin, a spokesman for the Haitian civil protection agency.

America’s Accuweather website warned meanwhile that Matthew could hit the US East Coast around midweek.

“How significant impacts are along the Atlantic Seaboard will depend on Matthew’s strength and proximity to the coast,” it said.