Hurricane Matthew Tracker: Storm Eye at Charleston, South Carolina; 1 Million Without Power in Florida
The eyewall of Hurricane Matthew, which killed about 900 people and displaced tens of thousands in Haiti, is approaching Charleston, South Carolina with wind gusts early Saturday morning over 80 mph on the South Carolina and Georgia coasts. Four deaths were reported and more than a million people in Florida were without power after its arrival there.
The hurricane is likely to spread its impact, in addition to potentially serious rainfall flooding, throughout Georgia, South Carolina and southern North Carolina through at least Saturday night, Weather Channel reported.
At 5 a.m. EDT, the storm's eye was about 20 miles south-southeast of Hilton Head, South Carolina, and moving northward at 12 mph with the storm packing 105 mph winds, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Hurricane warnings are in effect north of Altamaha Sound, Georgia to Surf City, North Carolina, even as Reuters reported that the number of deaths in Haiti had jumped to at least 877 as the storm smashed through that country's western peninsula Tuesday with 145 mph winds and torrential rain.
Hurricane Matthew is likely to bring the worst wind and surge impacts in the Georgia coast through Saturday morning; in South Carolina from Saturday through Saturday evening; and in North Carolina, mainly south, from Saturday afternoon through early Sunday, according to Weather.com.
Meanwhile, more than 1.1 million customers were without power from all utility companies throughout Florida, according to the Florida Public Service Commission, USA Today reported. Among the worst affected areas in the state are Palm Beach County, including West Palm Beach and Boca Raton; Sarasota County; and Lee County, including Fort Myers and Cape Coral.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott told reporters that about 22,000 people were being housed in shelters. At least four storm-related deaths have been reported in the state, according to CNN.
In Georgia, the largest utility company, Georgia Power, is monitoring the hurricane with emergency crews on standby, the utility said in a statement earlier.
On Friday, President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Georgia. "Hurricane Matthew is as serious as it gets. Listen to local officials, prepare, take care of each other," he tweeted.
