Gov. Rick Scott told the 1.5 million residents in evacuation zones: “You need to leave. Evacuate, evacuate, evacuate,” as very powerful and dangerous Category 4 Hurricane Matthew approaches the state.
Packing winds of 140 mph (220 kph) and gusts up to 165 mph, Hurricane Matthew was located about 180 miles (290 kilometers) southeast of West Palm Beach, Florida at the 11:00 a.m. advisory, churning in a northwesterly direction at 14 mph (22kph). The storm’s minimum central pressure has again dropped, reading 940 mb (27.76 inches).
For those that want to shelter in place, just remember that Matthew is already responsible for 28 deaths in three Caribbean countries, 23 of those in Haiti, alone. Officials in Haiti are still trying to reach areas south of Port-Au-Prince to assess casualties and damages in the ravaged country.
The governors of Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina have also declared emergencies and in some cases have evacuation orders in place, and including Florida, there are over 8,000 National Guard Troops activated or on alert.
CNN aired Governor Scott’s live news conference this morning as Scott made a dire warning: “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.”
Hurricane conditions are expected to reach the coast of Florida later on Thursday. People living in high-rise buildings need to know that wind speeds increase rapidly in elevation during a tropical cyclone, so winds at the top of a 30-story building will be, on average, about one Saffir-Simpson category higher than the winds near the surface, says the NHC.
And with Florida being not that many feet above sea level, the storm surge and waves will be extremely dangerous, with a surge of 6 to 9 feet possible in some areas. The surge will be much higher during high tide periods and with the added waves, could become extremely high and life-threatening.
