Florida residents stock up on supplies ahead of Matthew

Record ID: 84567

  • Title: Florida residents stock up on supplies ahead of Matthew
  • Date: 6th October 2016
  • Summary: JUPITER, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 6, 2016) (REUTERS) WIND AND MIST OVER PALM TREES WITH ROUGH SURF BEHIND IT
  • Embargoed: 21st October 2016 13:26
  • Keywords: storm Matthew hurricane Florida Miami Jupiter Fort Lauderdale preps supplies
  • Location: JUPITER, FORT LAUDERDALE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES
  • City: JUPITER, FORT LAUDERDALE, MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Environment,Weather
  • Reuters ID: LVA00352VBB5Z
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Florida residents descended on local hardware stores for wood boards, flashlights and batteries as Matthew, the fiercest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade, barrels towards the southeast U.S. coast.
    At a Miami Home Depot hardware store, supplies were nearly depleted.
    "Yes we thought it wasn't a big deal but everyone kinda rushed before us so now it's up to us to figure this out," one local said.
    A mass exodus was under way in Florida with millions heeding warnings to flee inland.
    Many have traveled north to Fort Lauderdale and could be seen lined up at hurricane shelters.
    One visitor from the Netherlands said she had relocated from her hotel to stay at the shelter.
    "Yes, I'm so scared really. I don't want this but I have to," she said.
    Roadways in Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina were congested and gas stations and food stores ran out of supplies as Hurricane Matthew approached, packing sustained winds of about 115 miles per hour (185 km per hour), storm surges and heavy rain.
    Matthew, which killed at least 26 people and damaged swathes of homes in southern Haiti, was predicted to strengthen from a Category 3 to 4 storm en route to eastern Florida. Landfall was expected there on Thursday night, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
    The four states in the hurricane's path declared states of emergency enabling their governors to mobilize the National Guard. Shelters in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina opened their doors after authorities, along with President Barack Obama, urged locals to evacuate their homes.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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