Hurricane Mathew Tears Up Florida, Leaves at least 3 Dead

ABC NEWS– Hurricane Matthew battered the Florida coast Friday with powerful winds, potentially devastating storm surges and torrential rain, leaving over 1 million people without power as officials made last-minute appeals for any remaining holdouts to get out of harm’s way.

At least Three people have been confirmed dead in Florida from the storm.

Officials in St. Lucie County, Florida, said two people died overnight when emergency officials could not get to them because of the storm’s strong winds.

One victim, a woman in her late 50s, died from cardiac arrest, according to St. Lucie fire department officials. Crews could not safely respond to her location and the woman died by the time crews arrived, officials said.

Later in the night in St. Lucie County, there was a report of an unconscious 82-year-old man breathing with difficulty. “When it was deemed safe for emergency vehicles to travel it was reported to first responders that the patient had been taken to the hospital,” according to officials. The man was later declared dead.

The third fatality was in Volusia County, Florida. A woman in her 60s went outside to feed her animals when a tree fell on her and killed her, according to Volusia County Emergency Management.