KINGSTON, Jamaica — Hurricane Matthew unleashed torrential rains and fierce winds as it hugged the Florida coast Friday, after a blast through the Caribbean.

Evacuation orders were issued for areas covering some three million residents and major US cities such as Jacksonville, Florida and Savannah, Georgia, which lay in the path of the category 4 storm.

Highways in those cities were jammed with people streaming inland to escape the storm, forecast to be strong enough to snap trees and blow away roofs or entire houses.

While passing on the outskirts of Jamaica Matthew dumped heavy rains on the island Sunday, flooding several communities and city roads within minutes of the downpour.

The storm caused havoc on Tuesday as it hit Haiti’s southern coast, killing more than 800 people, according to a senator from the region.

In other news, a 40-year-old taxi operator allegedly committed suicide early Tuesday after setting his Clarendon home on fire.

The man reportedly locked himself, his wife and two daughters inside the two-bedroom home and doused the premises with a flammable substance.

Neighbours managed to rescue the wife and two daughters but the man’s charred body was later found in the kitchen.