ORANJESTAD — A strengthening ********* Matthew whipped at Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao early Friday as it passed north of the islands on a rare track through a part of the Caribbean that rarely sees such storms.

Authorities on the Dutch Caribbean islands had urged residents to reinforce their homes and stock up on ********* supplies. Some streets flooded on Aruba and Curacao in the early hours of the storm’s pass-by, though there were no reports of evacuations.

Matthew’s approach prompted long lines at gas stations and supermarkets on the so-called ABC islands. Authorities in Aruba ordered government offices closed Friday and Curacao’s parliamentary elections were postponed until next week.

The ********* also was headed for a brush with the Colombia-Venezuela border area near the Maracaibo oil region on Friday.

Matthew is expected to turn north on Saturday and head toward Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti as a major *********, according to the U.S. National ********* Center in Miami. It grew into a Category 2 storm early Friday with maximum sustained winds near 165 km/h and forecasters said it could become even stronger before reaching Jamaica early Monday.

Matthew was centred about 210 kilometres northeast of Punta Gallinas in Colombia and 840 kilometres east-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, Friday morning. It was moving west-southwest near 22 km/h.

*********-force winds extended out for 75 kilometres and tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 295 kilometres.