Gov.Scott wants Floridians To Be Cautious While Facing Matthew
Florida Gov. Rick Scott sounded the alarm on the powerful Hurricane Matthew on Wednesday, saying no matter what path the storm takes now, “the effects will be devastating.“
The hurricane which has become an international story has already take the lives of at least 25 people per Reuters. 21 of those deaths were in Haiti, which has seen a tremendous amount of damage, according to the Local Civil Protection Authority. Four people have been killed in the Dominican Republic according to the Central Dominican Republican government.
But with a key bridge washed out, roads impassable and phone communications down, the part of Haiti hit the hardest remains isolated and there is no word on dead and injured.
After moving past Haiti, Matthew rolled across a corner of Cuba and then began pounding the southern Bahamas with winds of 120 mph and heavy rain on a course expected to take it near the capital city of Nassau.
Now, it’s coming to Florida. Which is why the governor and officials want to make one thing clear–now is not the time to play with Mother Nature.
“No excuses, get out,” Scott addressed the state of Florida. “We don’t know exactly where this storm is going, don’t trust the track.”
Matthew has done a good job of doing the unpredictable as it strengthens over time. There track of the hurricane has an extremely high amount of variance and it’s a cause for concern for the whole state of Florida.
President Obama visited FEMA headquarters Wednesday afternoon and underscored the danger the “serious storm” poses to the U.S.
“If you get an evacuation order, just remember that you can always rebuild, you can always repair property, you cannot restore a life if it is lost,” Mr. Obama said.
The Category 3 storm is expected to start affecting the Florida Atlantic coast with tropical storm conditions by early Thursday, but Gov. Scott said the time to prepare is now. Matthew is projected to strengthen back into a Category 4 with estimated 145 mph sustained winds as it passes the Bahamas.
Florida and other Atlantic Coast states have begun mobilizing their disaster response teams in earnest, and mandatory evacuations are expected to begin by Wednesday afternoon. Its projected path puts millions of people in line for at least an indirect hit of the giant storm.
Video courtsey of our Livestream WPYV/WFLX TV West Palm Beach