Hurricane Matthew Closes in on Florida with 140 mph Winds

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A strengthening Hurricane Matthew steamed toward Florida with winds of 140 mph Thursday as hundreds of thousands of people across the Southeast boarded up their homes and fled inland to escape the most powerful storm to threaten the Atlantic coast in more than a decade. "This is a dangerous storm," Florida Gov. Rick Scott warned as the skies began darkening from Matthew's outer bands of rain. "The storm has already killed people. We should expect the same impact in Florida." The hurricane picked up steam as it closed in, growing from a Category 3 to a Category 4 storm by late morning. It barreled over the Bahamas and was expected to scrape nearly the entire length of Florida's Atlantic coast beginning Thursday evening. From there, forecasters said, it was expected to push its way just off the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina before veering off to sea. About 2 million people in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina were warned to head inland. Scott said Florida could be looking at its biggest evacuation ever. As people hurried for higher ground, authorities in South Carolina said a motorist died on Wednesday after being shot by deputies during a dispute along an evacuation route. Matthew killed at least 29 people in the Caribbean as it sliced through Haiti, Cuba and the Bahamas. Twenty-three of those deaths were in Haiti, where the full extent of the death and destruction was still unknown. As of 11 a.m. EDT, Matthew was 180 ...
Source: JEMS: Journal of Emergency Medical Services News - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: News Major Incidents Source Type: news