The Latest on Hurricane Matthew
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO/ABC News) – Governor Nikki Haley has declared a state of emergency in South Carolina.
With Hurricane Matthew upgraded to a Category 4 storm as it tracks closer to the U.S. coast today, Florida Gov. Rick Scott warned “this storm will kill you,” making a final plea for residents living in evacuation zones to leave before the deadly storm is expected to hit the southeast state early Friday morning.
“Time’s running out. Leave. There’s no excuses,” Scott said at a news conference this morning. “This is life and death.”
Other officials have echoed Scott’s urgency as the hurricane batters the Bahamas and strengthens over the warm waters of the Atlantic.
“The extreme winds of a major hurricane can do a lot of damage, and not just at the coast,” Rick Knabb, director of the National Hurricane Center, told “Good Morning America” today.
“Those winds can penetrate inland and that would be more so the case the closer it gets to the coast,” Knabb warned. “In addition to the wind, you have storm surge potential.
“People who have been told to evacuate, they need to get out this morning, right away, because time is running out fast. You don’t want to be caught in the storm surge which is the deadliest hazard of all.”
The governors of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina have declared states of emergency. Officials in three of those states have urged millions of people to head to safer ground as the most powerful storm to threaten the Atlantic Coast in more than a decade continued on its path northwest toward the United States at about 12 mph, packing 125 mph winds with higher gusts.
About 8 million Florida residents scrambled to make last-minute preparations as the storm was expected to strengthen from a Category 3 to a Category 4 hurricane with 145 mph winds before approaching the state tonight. The track showed Hurricane Matthew possibly making landfall just north of West Palm Beach, Florida, sometime early Friday around 2 a.m. ET.
Hurricane Matthew could be the strongest storm to hit the United States in more than a decade if it makes landfall, ABC News meteorologists said.
“It is very rare to have a hurricane of this strength to come this close or make landfall in eastern part of central or northern Florida,” meteorologist Max Golembo said.
Up to 15 inches of rain may fall in some areas, and a storm surge of up to 8 feet was expected along the coast from central Florida to Georgia, according to the National Hurricane Center
The National Hurricane Center extended its hurricane warning and its hurricane watch further north into Georgia and South Carolina, respectively, at 5 a.m. ET this morning as the eye of the storm moved closer to Florida. As of 8 a.m. ET, Hurricane Matthew’s center was 215 miles southeast of West Palm Beach.
“There is a danger of life-threatening inundation during the next 36 hours along the Florida east coast and Georgia coast,” the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory issued this morning at 5 a.m. ET.
Motorists clogged highways, homeowners boarded up windows and anxious shoppers lined up at grocery stores and gas stations as they stocked up on emergency supplies in the threatened coastal areas.
“The eye has reformed, and the convection has intensified rapidly, all indicative of a storm that is going to strengthen,” ABC meteorologist Daniel Manzo said.
“While the forecast looks like Matthew will bring devastating effects to the east coast of Florida, a small change in the track could have drastic changes in impact,” he added. “If the storm were to track even 20 to 40 miles east of the present forecast, it would be less intense along the east coast of Florida.”
After a briefing with his homeland security team at FEMA headquarters in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, President Obama told reporters Hurricane Matthew is “a serious storm, and we want everybody to take it seriously as well.”
“Just remember that you can always rebuild,” Obama said. “You can always repair property. You cannot restore a life if it is lost and we want to make sure that we minimize any possible loss of life or risk to people in these areas.”
No other Atlantic storm on record has packed such powerful winds for such a prolonged period as Hurricane Matthew, which has claimed at least 16 lives after causing extensive damages in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Cuba this week, bringing widespread torrential rain and flooding to the region.
SCHOOL CLOSURES FOR WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY AND FRIDAY (OCTOBER 5-7)
Calhoun County District Schools
Central Carolina Tech
Darlington County
Denmark Tech Closed Wednesday & Thursday
Fairfield County District Schools (Closed through Friday)
Lexington School District One
Lexington School District Two (All Lexington Two District meetings, after-school activities, including sports events and practices, have also been cancelled for October 4).
Lexington 3
Lexington and Richland County (District 5)
Richland One schools and administrative offices
Sumter School District
OCAB Head Start Centers in Orangeburg, Calhoun, Allendale, and Bamberg Counties
Orangeburg Consolidated School Districts 3, 4, and 5
SC State University
Orangeburg Calhoun Tech
Claflin University ( closed through Sunday)
Clarendon District 1 ( closed Wednesday)
Clarendon District 3 (Closed until Friday)
University Of South Carolina (Closed Wednesday)
OTHER CLOSINGS/CANCELLATIONS
All Lexington County government offices, this includes administrative offices and County recycling centers, be closed Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016, through Friday, Oct. 7, 2016.
Harvin Clarendon County Library in Manning will be CLOSED beginning Wednesday October 5th in advance of Hurricane Matthew.
The Social Security Administration Columbia will be closed Wednesday through Friday.
Columbia City Mayor’s Walk Against Domestic Violence Will Not be Held on October 8
City of West Columbia Closed October 5, 6, and 7.
For questions concerning Hurricane Matthew DO NOT call 9-1-1 A hotline has been set up to answer what you need to know. Call: 1866-246-0133
