MIAMI—The Latest on Hurricane Matthew and Tropical Storm Nicole (all times local):
President Barack Obama has declared an emergency in South Carolina and has ordered federal aid to help respond to Hurricane Matthew.
Earlier Thursday, Obama made the declaration for Florida. Obama’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate efforts to protect lives, property and alleviate the suffering caused by the hurricane.
Emergency declarations are designed to help provide emergency services to protect lives and property, and to lessen the threat of a catastrophe.
The White House says President Barack Obama has spoken by telephone with each of the governors in states bracing for Hurricane Matthew.
Charge your electronic devices now if you live in E. #Florida in the path of #Hurricane #Matthew, power outages will be widespread. #FLwx pic.twitter.com/CyKE6unMNp
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) October 7, 2016
Thoughts w all those affected by #HurricaneMatthew. To those in its path tonight #Florida & #EastCoast, stay safe! pic.twitter.com/1FFMW1T6vY
— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) October 7, 2016
The most powerful storm to threaten the U.S. Atlantic coast in more than a decade is moving toward Florida with winds of 140 mph.
The White House says Obama committed to providing the necessary federal resources to help the states respond to the hurricane.
The calls were with Govs. Nathan Deal of Georgia, Nikki Haley of South Carolina, Pat McCrory of NorthCarolina and Rick Scott of Florida. All are Republicans.
The White House says people in the path of the hurricane need to take the storm seriously and says Obamahas “directed his team to be as proactive as possible” in its response.
9:10 p.m.
The coordinator for Haiti’s Interior Ministry in the area hit hardest by Hurricane Matthew says the confirmed death toll in that southwestern zone is now 283.
Emmanuel Pierre told The Associated Press late Thursday that he expects the toll to rise as authorities reach remote places that were left isolated by the storm.
The overall death toll in Haiti is not clear. Shortly before Pierre spoke, the headquarters for Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency had put the number of confirmed deaths for the whole country at 122.
Bodies have started to appear as waters recede in some areas two days after Matthew smashed concrete walls, flattened palm trees and tore roofs off homes.
#HurricaneMatthew has strengthened again to a Category 4 and has sustained winds of 140 mph https://t.co/nRPBDEg2we pic.twitter.com/IehoOJQtx6
— Orlando Sentinel (@orlandosentinel) October 7, 2016
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8:30 p.m.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott maintains that state and local officials are prepared for Hurricane Matthew, even as he called the storm bearing down on the state a “monster.”
“Matthew is likely to produce devastating impacts,” Scott says.
Scott says people in the northeast part of the state still have time to evacuate and residents could still choose to go to a shelter.
Authorities have told roughly 1.5 million people across the state to evacuate. The mass exodus led to crammed highways, full hotels and the need to open dozens of hurricane shelters. The looming storm also has led to gas shortages, though Scott said the state still has five days’ worth of fuel supplies.
Officials are expecting massive power outages across the region once Hurricane Matthew hits full-force.
Although the state has food and water supplies ready for after the storm, Scott cautioned that people need to be able to take care of themselves for the first three days.
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8:10 p.m.
The National Hurricane Center says the center of Hurricane Matthew is over the western end of the Grand Bahama Island and tropical storm conditions are lashing the east coast of Florida.
At 8 p.m. EDT, the storm had weakened slightly and had 130 mph (210 kph) sustained winds, down from 140 mph (225 kph). Matthew is about 75 miles (120 kilometers) east of West Palm Beach, Florida.
The storm left more than 100 dead in its wake across the Caribbean, and 2 million people across the Southeast have been warned to flee inland.
It’s the most powerful storm to threaten the U.S. Atlantic coast in more than a decade.
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7:45 p.m.
Hurricane Matthew prompted two college football postponements, and has the NFL plotting just-in-case scenarios for games scheduled in Tampa and Miami this weekend.
A pair of college games set to be played Saturday — LSU at No. 18 Florida, as well as Charlotte at Florida Atlantic — were postponed.
Saturday night’s game that has No. 23 Florida State visiting No. 10 Miami remains on as scheduled, though officials remain somewhat cautious. The fate of Saturday’s Georgia at South Carolina football game also remained unclear.
A major issue with games in Florida this weekend isn’t the weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday, because those days look to be generally fine around the state. It’s whether police, first responders and other key personnel needed at football games that draw massive crowds will be deployed to assist in areas that will take the brunt of Matthew’s wrath.
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7:30 p.m.
The Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency says authorities have rescued at least 30 people who were trapped in their homes by floodwaters from Hurricane Matthew on the island of New Providence.
There has been extensive flooding across the island but no reports of any deaths or injuries. The island includes the capital, Nassau.
New Providence was drenched by Hurricane Matthew throughout Thursday. Forecasters predicted up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain and storm surge of around 15 feet (5 meters) over normal tide across the most populous island in the Bahamas.
Agency spokeswoman Lindsay Thompson said the government was still conducting a full assessment of damages across the island chain east of Florida and were waiting until the storm was clear of Grand Bahama before declaring the all clear for the country.
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NASA is bracing for its first hurricane without space shuttles to worry about. Now it’s SpaceX and Boeing fretting about hurricane-force wind and equally devastating storm surges.
Before the shuttle fleet’s retirement in 2011, rollbacks from the launch pads were commonplace during hurricane season at Kennedy Space Center. Now both pads are empty, at least for the time being.
NASA is modifying Launch Complex 39B for its still-in-development Space Launch System mega-rockets intended for outer-space travel. SpaceX is leasing the other pad, 39A, from where Apollo astronauts departed for the moon and multiple shuttle flights began.
SpaceX was counting on this historic pad to get its rockets flying again, possibly in November, once modifications were complete. The SpaceX pad at neighboring Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was damaged Sept. 1 when a Falcon rocket exploded during prelaunch testing.
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5:30 p.m.
Police are patrolling St. Augustine, Florida, neighborhoods, announcing through a bullhorn that the area is in a mandatory evacuation zone as Hurricane Matthew approaches the state.
Dana Harrison, who lives on a barrier island across from Anastasia State Park, said she planned to wait out the storm with an out-of-town friend and her cat.
The 57-year-old Harrison says she used to live in St. Thomas and survived Hurricane Hugo in 1989, though the storm destroyed her house. She said she feels more secure in her current home.
About 1.5 million people in Florida have been told to flee inland as the dangerous and life-threatening Category 4 storm makes it way toward the state.
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5 p.m.
Officials in the Florida Keys say the island chain got lucky and did not receive major damage from HurricaneMatthew.
Monroe County spokeswoman Cammy Clark said any schools, libraries, parks and government offices that had closed would be reopened on Friday.
All roads and bridges in the islands are open. The Key West and Marathon airports will open Friday, though flights may be delayed or canceled due to the hurricane’s effects elsewhere.
Coastal waters throughout the Keys were expected to rise up to 2 feet above ground, flooding some neighborhood roads but not the narrow Overseas Highway that links the islands with Florida’s peninsula.
