- Title: Hurricane Matthew targets Florida after wreaking havoc in Caribbean
- Date: 6th October 2016
- Summary: MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 06, 2016) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF EXTERIOR OF MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT GENERAL VIEW OF PEOPLE OUTSIDE GENERAL VIEW OF INTERIOR OF AIRPORT, STRANDED PASSENGERS STANDING AROUND LUGGAGE STRANDED PASSENGERS STANDING IN LINE VARIOUS AIRPORT MONITORS LISTING CANCELLED FLIGHTS GENERAL VIEW OF SECURITY SCREENING AREA THAT IS EMPTY GENERAL VIEW OF INTERIOR HALLWAY OF AIRPORT, PASSENGERS WALKING BY (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PERUVIAN NATIONAL MAILER CASTILLO SAYING: "I was supposed to go to Denver (Colorado) today at 2:00 pm but they have postponed my flight until Saturday the 8th (of October) and they added one more stop, Dallas (Texas). So now I have to go to Dallas and then from there I have to go to Denver. I feel this situation is bothersome. I feel that they could have warned us earlier or take some sort of measure to offer us an alternative." EMPTY AIRLINE COUNTER GENERAL VIEW OF INTERIOR HALLWAY OF AIRPORT THAT IS EMPTY AIRPORT EMPLOYEES WALKING BY GENERAL VIEW OF EXTERIOR OF AIRPORT, POLICE CARS PARKED ALONG CURB GENERAL VIEW OF EXTERIOR OF PUBLIX SUPERMARKET FAMILY WITH SHOPPING CAR FILLED WITH PROVISIONS WALKING TO THEIR CAR VARIOUS OF CUSTOMERS WALKING IN COUPLE WALKING OUT OF SUPERMARKET WITH SHOPPING CART (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MIAMI RESIDENT ELENA CASTRO SAYING: "I am not really scared of the hurricane because I think that it is going to come in soft, at least into Miami. But I am worried about Broward because it is going to look more difficult for them there and that is where my children are." VARIOUS OF GAS STATION THAT HAS BEEN CLOSED GENERAL VIEW OF PALM TREES SWAYING IN THE WIND IN SOUTH BEACH AREA TREES SWAYING IN THE WIND GENERAL VIEW OF BEACH, PEOPLE STILL WALKING AROUND WAVES CRASHING BEACHGOER, CRISTIAN DIAZ SWIMMING WAVES CRASHING (SOUNDBITE) (English) BEACHGOER CRISTIAN DIAZ SAYING: "Hurricane Matthew, I mean I am not too scared of him. Right now it is not too bad we just have some winds and a little bit of rain, nothing to worry about now but I will definitely keep posted on the news to see what's coming and if it gets worse, obviously I am going to have to go back home." VARIOUS OF POLICE VEHICLE DRIVING ONTO BEACH VARIOUS OF GENERAL VIEWS OF WAVES CRASHING
- Embargoed: 21st October 2016 19:07
- Keywords: Hurricane Matthew Florida Miami airport preps cancelled flights storm
- Location: MIAMI, FLORIDA, USA
- City: MIAMI, FLORIDA, USA
- Country: USA
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Wind/Hurricane/Typhoons/Tornadoes
- Reuters ID: LVA00152VD3YF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Hurricane Matthew, the fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade, strengthened as it barreled toward the southeastern United States on Thursday (October 06) after killing at least 140 people, mostly in Haiti, on its deadly northward march.
As Matthew blew through the northwestern Bahamas on Thursday en route to Florida's Atlantic coast, it became an "extremely dangerous" hurricane carrying winds of 140 miles per hour (220 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
That made it a Category 4 hurricane and it was likely to remain so as it approached the United States, where it could either take direct aim at Florida or brush along the state's coast through Friday night, the center said.
In Miami, Florida, the international airport suspended operations ahead of the storm.
"I was supposed to go to Denver (Colorado) today at 2:00 pm but they have postponed my flight until Saturday the 8th (of October) and they added one more stop, Dallas (Texas). So now I have to go to Dallas and then from there I have to go to Denver. I feel this situation is bothersome. I feel that they could have warned us earlier or take some sort of measure to offer us an alternative," traveller from Peru, Mailer Castillo, said.
Residents in the tourist hotspot made a dash for supermarket to purchase emergency supplies ahead of the storm's arrival.
"I am not really scared of the hurricane because I think that it is going to come in soft, at least into Miami. But I am worried about Broward because it is going to look more difficult for them there and that is where my children are," Miami resident Elena Castro said.
Schools and airports across the region were closed on Thursday and some hospitals were evacuated, according to local media. Hundreds of flights were canceled in and out of the Florida cities of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, industry website Flightaware.com said.
At about at about 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), Matthew was 180 miles (290 km) southeast of West Palm Beach, the hurricane center said. It was heading northwest at about 14 mph (22 kph) and was expected to continue on this track on Thursday, the hurricane center said. The eye, or center, of the storm was moving between Andros Island and New Providence in the northwestern Bahamas.
Matthew was forecast to pass close to Freeport, on Grand Bahama, the most industrialized part of Bahamas and home to Buckeye Partners LP's BORCO oil storage terminal, Statoil's south Riding Point Terminal as well as pharmaceutical manufacturing. Grand Bahamas Shipyard, also in Freeport and used by Carnival Corp. for cruise ship repairs, was closed from Monday as the storm approached.
In Florida, fuel stations posted "out of gas" signs after cars waited in long lines to fill up.
In Miami's South Beach, some ventured onto the beach to watch the waves crash in.
"Hurricane Matthew, I mean I am not too scared of him. Right now it is not too bad we just have some winds and a little bit of rain, nothing to worry about now but I will definitely keep posted on the news to see what's coming and if it gets worse, obviously I am going to have to go back home," beachgoer Cristian Diaz said.
It was too soon to predict where Matthew might do the most of its damage in the United States but the National Hurricane Center's hurricane warning extended up the Atlantic coast from southern Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina. More than 12 million people in the United States were under hurricane watches and warnings, according to the Weather Channel. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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