“That’s the only thing we’ve seen,” he said.

In Stuart, the Palm Beach Post reported that high surf had washed sand out from under the garage of a waterfront home, collapsing the building and leaving two cars, a 2006 Mercedes and a 2013 Mercedes, in a deep hole sloshing with sea water.

With Sandy expected to crawl north with an expanding swath of gale-force winds, the NHC left up tropical storm watches and warnings for much Florida and extended them to the coastlines of the Carolinas.

Sandy, which slammed eastern Cuba near Santiago as a powerful Category 2 hurricane with 115 mph winds has left a trail of death and damage along its path.

Flooding continued to be a problem in Cuba. In Villa Clara province, heavy rain early Friday prompted the evacuation of 3,450 people who were transferred to the homes of family and friends. Although both Villa Clara and Sancti Spiritus provinces are far from hard-hit Santiago and Holguin, flooding prompted highway closures. Cuban officials were still assessing damages, working on routes to get food, medicine and construction materials to eastern Cuba as quickly as possible, according to a report on Televisión Cubana.

The Bahamas were hard hit and The Associated Press reported a 66-year-old man died on Lyford Cay after falling from his roof Thursday while fixing a storm shutter. The worst damage was to Cat Island and Exuma, both hit by Sandy’s core, which left downed trees and power lines and battered homes. The Dominican Republic also reported flooding from the same stubborn outer bands parked over Haiti.

Dennis Feltgen, a spokesman for the NHC, said the band of thunderstorms hanging over Haiti hundreds of miles from Sandy’s core was the typical outflow for a large hurricane pulling deep tropical moisture in its wake. Tropical Storm Isaac in August produced the same effect, streaming thunderstorms over Southeast Florida and flooding portions of Palm Beach County.

Haiti, Feltgen said, just happened to be in the worst place for it, on the east side of a storm that had slowed off South Florida before an anticipated turn. Rain could continue into Saturday, adding to mounting misery.

In Grand Goave where the mudslide had killed 40-year-old Jacqueline Tatille and her four children — two girls and two boys aged 5 to 17 — morgue deputy Joseph Franck Laporte worried he would have more work in coming days.

“If the rain continues, for sure we’ll have more people die,” Laporte told The Associated Press. “The earth cannot hold the rain.”

Several people called the hurricane far worse than Tropical Storm Isaac in August, which skirted Haiti but killed at least 24 people. Isaac mainly hit the southern portion of the country. Sandy’s damage could be seen everywhere.

In neighboring Leogane, three overflowing rivers and rain had filled homes with water the color of chocolate.

Ricardo Toussaint, 26, stood on the roadside surveying the extensive flooding and said he was tired of enduring the same disasters year after years.

“We need dredging and retaining walls,” he said. “From the time they announce hurricane season, we know this will be the case. This is all we know.”

Miami Herald staff writer Jacqueline Charles reported from Port -au-Prince. Staff writer Curtis Morgan is based in Miami.