10/6/2016

Hurricane Matthew: 'This storm will kill you' FL gov. warns - CNN.com

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'This storm will kill you,' FL gov. warns ahead of

Hurricane Matthew
By Max Blau, Steve Almasy and Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN
Updated 1422 GMT (2222 HKT) October 6, 2016

Story highlights
NEW: Haiti reports 23 dead, warns of more
possible casualties; total death toll 28
Matthew has forced the largest mandatory
evacuation since Hurricane Sandy

Editor's Note: Are you a ected by Hurricane Matthew? If

it is safe for you to do so, WhatsApp us on *+44 7435 939
154* to share your photos, experiences and video. Please
tag #CNNiReport in your message.
(CNN) Hurricane Matthew is pummeling the Bahamas
Thursday. Its next stop could be the United States.
Here's what you need to know now about the powerful
storm that forecasters say is gaining strength:

The storm has already killed at least 28 people in three Caribbean countries. Twenty-three died in Haiti alone,
said Civil Protection Service spokesman Joseph Edgard Celestin, who says communication issues have
prevented authorities from assessing the damage and casualties in the far southwest portion of the country.
Authorities urged more than 2 million people to leave their homes in coastal Florida, Georgia and South
Carolina as the storm neared -- the largest mandatory evacuations in the United States since Hurricane Sandy
hit the East Coast in 2012.
Based on the latest projections, Matthew could make landfall in Florida early Friday as a Category 4 hurricane.
It could also skirt the coast as it continues north. While Matthew's outer bands were already starting to hit
Miami-Dade County by mid-morning, Mayor Carlos Jimenez said there's a bit of good news: "The probability of
sustained hurricane winds has gone down 13%."
The Category 3 storm is moving northwest at about 12 mph and packing 125 mph (205 kph) winds. Thursday
morning it was about 30 miles (45 km) south-southwest of Nassau, Bahamas, and 215 miles (350 km) from
West Palm Beach, Florida.

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Hurricane Matthew: 'This storm will kill you' FL gov. warns - CNN.com

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Rick Scott: Hurricane Matthew will kill people 00:48

Florida Gov. Rick Scott o ered a dire warning Thursday morning for people living in evacuation zones: "This is
serious. ... Don't take a chance. A small movement (of the storm) could mean a lot. That's why we have to
prepare for a direct hit. So again, if you need to evacuate and you haven't, evacuate. This storm will kill you.
Time is running out. We don't have that much time left."
"This could be an extremely disastrous hurricane for so many large areas where so many people can be
a ected," National Hurricane Center Director Rick Knabb told CNN Thursday. "It's not just going to come
ashore and a ect a narrow zone and then move on. It's going to be going up the coast and could remain a
major hurricane at the coast, or very close to it, the whole way up. That's awful."
How does Hurricane Matthew stack up against other storms?

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Hurricane Matthew: 'This storm will kill you' FL gov. warns - CNN.com

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Satellite

Florida braces for direct hit

Gov. Scott warned 1.5 million residents they had 24 hours to get ready, or better yet, get going.
A direct hit by Matthew, he said, could lead to "massive destruction" on a level unseen since Hurricane Andrew
devastated the Miami area in 1992. Voluntary and mandatory evacuations in his state stretch from the Miami
area all the way north to the Florida-Georgia border.
People who stayed behind stocked up on supplies and boarded up windows.

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Hurricane Matthew: 'This storm will kill you' FL gov. warns - CNN.com

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Texroy Spence, of Deereld Beach, Florida, loads plywood onto his car at the Home Depot
on Tuesday.
Many residents found long gas lines Wednesday. But so far, the state isn't running short on supplies, Scott said.
Airline passengers were urged to call before leaving for the airport. Fort Lauderdale's airport closes Thursday at
10:30 a.m. and Miami international Airport said in a tweet that it had canceled almost 650 ights and is
expecting most ights to be canceled by noon. Orlando International, which has already seen 180 ights
canceled, will stop ights at 8 p.m. ET, spokeswoman Carolyn Fennell said.
Tampa International Airport has reported a handful of cancellations and delays, while Jacksonville International
Airport intends to remain open as long as planes can y in, spokeswoman Debbie Jones said.
Palm Beach residents cleared many grocery store shelves ahead of the storm.

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Hurricane Matthew: 'This storm will kill you' FL gov. warns - CNN.com

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Photos: Hurricane Matthew approaches US coast after hitting Caribbean

Shoppers clear shelves at a supermarket in Titusville, Florida, as Hurricane Matthew churns towards the U
coast, October 5, 2016. Thousands of people potentially in the path of Hurricane Matthew ed inland
Wednesday, as parts of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina issued mandatory evacuations for areas mos
likely to be a ected.
1 of 38

Hide Caption

In Jupiter, resident Randy Jordan told CNN a liate WPEC people were pushing and shoving their way through
the local Home Depot to buy supplies ranging from batteries to ashlights.
Residents still had a sense of humor. Olivia A. Cole posted a photo on Twitter of an empty grocery shelf, save for
eight cans of a soup typically enjoyed in another part of the country. "South Florida wants to survive
#HurricaneMatthew. But we'd rather die than eat clam chowder," Cole joked.

South Florida wants to survive #HurricaneMatthew. But we'd rather die than eat clam chowder.
pic.twitter.com/WtNp6Xa6pZ
Olivia A. Cole (@RantingOwl) October 5, 2016
Hurricane Matthew pummels Haiti
How to help those a ected

Mandatory evacuations in South Carolina

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Cars packed
highways
in South
Carolina,
Gov.
Haley More
gave evacuation
orders for the coastal
revised
Privacy
Policy
andwhere
Terms
ofNikki
Service.
information
counties of Charleston and Beaufort.

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Hurricane Matthew: 'This storm will kill you' FL gov. warns - CNN.com

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There were tra c jams on I-26 as far west as Columbia, South Carolina.
So far, about 250,000 people have left the area. And as many as 200,000 people will leave Thursday, said Kim
Stenson, the director of South Carolina Emergency Management.
Tempers apparently ared during the slow tra c. A man got out of his truck at a point where vehicles were
being redirected, removed a tra c cone and sped away. Police chased the man until he stopped on a deadend road. The man red at deputies and police o cers, who shot back and wounded him, Berkeley County
Chief Deputy Mike Cochran told CNN. The man was hospitalized, but his condition is unknown.
The South Carolina Department of Transportation changed the directions of eastbound tra c lanes to
accommodate the exodus of people leaving coastal cities like Charleston.
As thousands ed inland, some people said they were staying put. In Charleston, which likely will feel Matthew's
impact this weekend, residents boarded up businesses and prepared to hunker down.

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Hurricane Matthew: 'This storm will kill you' FL gov. warns - CNN.com

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How to prepare for a hurricane 01:00

Watches and warning

Hurricane warning is in e ect for:
Southeastern Bahamas, including the
Inaguas, Mayaguana, Acklins, Crooked Island,
Long Cay and Ragged Island
Central Bahamas, including Long Island,
Exuma, Rum Cay, San Salvador and Cat Island
Northwestern Bahamas, including the
Abacos, Andros Island, Berry Islands, Bimini,
Eleuthera, Grand Bahama Island and New
Providence

Cheryl Quinn said she and her husband were ne a year

ago when Charleston endured heavy rain after a brush
with a big storm.
"It was kind of a party down here. I hate to say that," she
said, adding that storms can be scary, too.
But she told CNN she's reserved a hotel room, just in case.

North Carolina playing it by ear

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory declared a state of
emergency for more than half the state's 100 counties. So
far, though, the governor has not urged residents to
evacuate.

North of Golden Beach, Florida, to Altamaha

Sound, Georgia
Lake Okeechobee
Hurricane watch is in e ect for:
North of Altamaha Sound to South Santee
River South Carolina
Source: National Hurricane Center

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Hurricane Matthew: 'This storm will kill you' FL gov. warns - CNN.com

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See Hurricane Matthew churn from space 00:45

The changing forecast now predicts the storm won't have as great an impact on the state as once feared, and
Matthew might even turn around before it gets there.
"We're just going to have to play it by ear and have our resources ready," the governor said.
O cials are still concerned areas in eastern North Carolina that were recently ooded will see drenching rains
from Matthew.
Are we prepared for a major hurricane?

Georgia governor: 'Remain calm, be prepared'

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has declared a state of emergency in 30 counties on or near the Atlantic Coast, and
o cials ordered a mandatory evacuation for Tybee Island, a low-lying island east of Savannah.
In six of those coastal counties -- Chatham, Bryan, Liberty, McIntosh, Glynn and Camden -- Deal urged more
than 500,000 residents to voluntarily evacuate.

.@NWS issued Hurricane Watch for Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Glynn, McIntosh & Liberty Counties.
#Matthew pic.twitter.com/5k1fXSU1PY
Georgia EM&HS (@GeorgiaEMA) October 5, 2016
"Remain calm, be prepared and make informed, responsible decisions," Deal said.
CNN's Holly Yan, Stephanie Elam, Rolando Zenteno, Keith Allen, Shawn Nottingham, Alexander Leininger,
Tony Marco, Deborah Bloom and Eliott C. McLaughlin contributed to this report.

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