Millions have evacuated and hundreds of thousands are without power as Hurricane Matthew – now a Category 3 storm – howls its way up the eastern coast of Florida and towards the Carolinas.
09 October 2016
08 October 2016
The number of deaths in Haiti caused by Hurricane Matthew has risen to 877, Reuters reported on Saturday, citing numbers from civil defense and local officials. Tens of thousands of people have been left homeless, as the storm razed homes to the ground. Outbreaks of cholera are also claiming lives. According to a statement from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), cholera cases have been on the rise due to flooding caused by the hurricane and its impact on water and sanitation infrastructure.
Hurricane Matthew, packing top sustained winds of up to 105 miles per hour (170kph), is moving due north toward the South Carolina coast, the US National Hurricane Center reports. The storm surge continues in South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia.
07 October 2016
Four people have now died in Florida. A woman in her late 50s died from cardiac arrest in St. Lucie overnight when emergency responders could not get to her due to strong winds, St. Lucie Fire Department officials said.
Later Thursday night, an unconscious 82-year-old man with breathing difficulties was brought to the hospital, where he was later declared dead.
On Friday afternoon,a woman in her 60s died when a tree fell on her as she went outside to feed her animals, according to Volusia County Emergency Management.
Around 3pm local time, a woman who was riding out the storm in a camper trailer died "when a tree fell due to high winds." A man who was also in the trailer escaped with only minor injuries, Putnam County officials said in a statement.
More than 1 million Floridians are without power as of 3pm local time, according to Governor Rick Scott.
In North Carolina, Governor Pat McCrory requested and received a federal disaster declaration for 66 counties "in anticipation of damages caused by Hurricane Matthew."
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Tornado warnings related to Matthew have been issued to the Georgia counties of Chatham, Liberty and Bryant.
The death toll in Haiti from Hurricane Matthew has grown to at least 572 people.
"My house wasn't destroyed, so I am receiving people, like it's a temporary shelter," Bellony Amazan told Reuters, adding that she had no food to give people. She lives in the town of Cavaillon, where around a dozen people died.
“I just want to emphasize to everybody that this is still a really dangerous hurricane, that the potential for storm surge, loss of life and severe property damage exists and people continue to need to follow the instructions of their local officials over the next 24, 48, 72 hours," President Barack Obama Obama told reporters after a briefing with FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and other officials on Friday morning.
Emergency responders in St. Johns County, Florida are responding to a potential drowning, WJAX reported.
The man was safely rescued at the Vilano Causeway. He was holding onto a trash can when he was pulled out of the water, according to WTLV.
A marabou stork is hanging out in a restroom at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoological Park in Florida. The zoo moved all its birds and mammals inside the facility ahead of the storm.
Hurricane Matthew killed at least 572 people in Haiti earlier this week, local officials have confirmed.
So far, there has been one death reported in Florida, with a St. Lucie County resident suffering a heart attack during the storm.
A man in South Carolina was shot and killed by police during the evacuation on Wednesday.
"We’ve been blessed that we haven’t had a direct hit," Florida Governor Rick Scott said, but "it could be the worst part of this is still to come."
Though the eye of the hurricane has not made landfall, as the storm makes its way up the coast, the authorities fear storm surges that could cause major flooding.
"This is a big major hurricane that is just offshore and it is fully capable of producing life threatening storm surge," Rick Knabb, Director of the National Hurricane Center (NHC), told ABC's Good Morning America on Friday. "If you are in an area that emergency managers told you to evacuate and they’re telling you to go, you absolutely have to go now. Your life could depend on it."
“The evacuations have worked,” Florida Governor Rick Scott told reporters Friday morning.
More than 580,000 people have lost power, but emergency crews are already restoring service to areas where the storm has passed.
All interstate highways are open, and most jurisdictions report “no major issues,” Scott said.
Florida has requested the federal government to assist with food, water, tarps, generators, water pumps, cots, blankets, and search-and-rescue teams.
As of 9:30 am local time on Friday, the hurricane was about 51 miles east-southeast of Daytona Beach. It is moving north-northwest at 13 miles per hour, with 120 mph winds gusting up to 145 mph.
Water and power outages from the storm are causing troubles for some fire crews.
Video from Port St. John, due east of Orlando and sheltered from the ocean by Cape Canaveral.