(EFE).- Hurricane Matthew strengthened on Thursday to Category 4, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 kph), and continues to approach the east coast of Florida, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

As of 1500 GMT, the “extremely dangerous” hurricane was located 25 miles (40 kilometers) west-northwest of Nassau, Bahamas, and 180 miles (290 kilometers) southeast of West Palm Beach, Florida, and moving to the northwest at 14 mph (22 kph), the NHC said.

The Haitian government on Thursday said Hurricane Matthew had caused a catastrophe in the nation’s southern region and put the death toll at 23, though also indicating that the number of fatal victims was expected to rise.

Interim President Jocelerme Privert said after visiting Haiti’s southern peninsula that the situation was “very serious” and that his country would need international aid to repair the damage, although a state of catastrophe has not been officially declared.

Emergency management officials on Thursday confirmed the discovery of more bodies in Jeremie, Les Cayes, Gonave and Les Anglais, all in Haiti’s southern region, which has been cut off due to the collapse of a key bridge linking it to the capital zone.

Authorities have not yet been able to precisely determine the number of hurricane victims, although images have revealed widespread devastation and prompted fears of a high death toll and extensive material damage.

Different sources say 340,000 people were affected by the hurricane, which on Thursday crossed the Bahamas and was heading for the east coast of Florida after affecting Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Cuba.

Privert issued a call for solidarity and said the government would begin providing assistance to those injured or left homeless by the hurricane.

He said the priority at this time was to save lives and help those displaced by the storm find temporary shelter.

Images show vast devastation in the city of Jeremie, with thousands of houses destroyed and left without basic services such as electricity and water.

The first flights to southern Haiti were scheduled to begin on Thursday, three days after all domestic and international flights in the country were grounded due to the hurricane.

Matthew, the most powerful Atlantic storm since Hurricane Felix, which caused more than 130 deaths in Nicaragua in 2007, forced the postponement of general elections in Haiti that had been scheduled for Sunday.