Government officials estimate that at least 350,000 people need assistance

The most powerful Caribbean hurricane in nearly a decade has left thousands of people displaced in Haiti, with rescuers struggling to reach the worst-hit areas.

Hurricane Matthew roared across the southwestern tip of Haiti with 145 mph winds, uprooting trees and tearing roofs from homes in a largely rural corner of the impoverished country as the storm headed north toward Cuba and the east coast of Florida