CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Some 3,000 people checked into shelters across Florida, a judge in coastal Georgia suspended a murder trial and the South Carolina governor prepared to call for more evacuations Thursday as Hurricane Matthew gained new fury on its way to the heavily populated Atlantic coast.

On Wednesday night, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal urged more than 522,000 residents of six coastal counties to voluntarily evacuate with the threat of Hurricane Matthew approaching the region. An evacuation hasn’t been seen in coastal Georgia in 17 years.

On Tybee Island, home to Georgia’s largest public beach, Loren Kook loaded up his pickup truck with suitcases and a computer late Wednesday afternoon to hit the road to metro Atlanta.

“It seems like a lot of the longtime residents are staying,” said Kook, who moved to the coast four years ago. “I’ve never sat through a Category Whatever. I’ll watch it on TV.”

In the coastal Georgia city of Brunswick, a judge suspended the murder trial for a man accused of leaving his son to die in a hot car until Monday because of the impending storm, giving jurors a four-day weekend.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Matthew, though still a dangerous Category 3 hurricane as the day dawned, was expected to regain status as an even more powerful Category 4 storm in coming hours. Top sustained winds ratcheted up from 115 mph to 125 mph overnight.

As the threat from the major hurricane rose along the Southeast seacoast, the centre extended a hurricane warning area on a large swath of Florida’s east coast farther up to Altamaha Sound, Georgia. And it said a newly expanded hurricane watch area would now reach from the Altamaha Sound to the South Santee River in South Carolina.

In the Sunshine State, the Florida Division of Emergency Management said 48 shelters set up in schools already are providing for just over 3,000 people, mostly in coastal counties. Another 13 special needs shelters are currently housing 31 people.

These shelters are in areas where evacuations — either mandatory or voluntary — are underway.

As Matthew put the U.S. in its sights, about 2 million people were encouraged to head inland ahead of the most powerful storm to threaten the Atlantic coast in more than a decade. Matthew killed at least 16 people in the Caribbean as it cut through Haiti, Cuba and the Bahamas.

The storm is forecast to near the Florida coast starting Thursday night, potentially as a Category 4 storm with 130 mph winds. Any slight deviation could mean landfall or it heading farther out to sea. Either way, forecasters say it will come close enough to wreak havoc along the lower part of the East Coast, dumping up to 15 inches in rain in some spots. Storm surge of 5 feet to 8 feet was expected along the coast from central Florida into Georgia.

John Long, who lives in the Florida town of Cape Canaveral, said he’s staying put in spite of the warnings.

“The hype is going to be worse than the actual storm. I feel I can do quite well,” said Long, who owns a bike shop and plans to ride out the storm with his cat in his 32-foot recreational vehicle a half-mile from the ocean. He has lived in the Space Coast area for three decades.

“There’s always tremendous buildup and then it’s no stronger than an afternoon thunderstorm. I’m not anticipating that much damage,” he said Wednesday.

“This is a dangerous storm,” Scott said. “The storm has already killed people. We should expect the same impact in Florida.”

Similar warnings were issued in Georgia and the Carolinas, where the storm is expected to arrive by the weekend. The last Category 3 storm or higher to hit the United States was Wilma in October 2005. It made landfall with 120 mph winds in southwest Florida, killing five people as it slashed across the state.

In South Carolina, Gov. Nikki Haley reversed the lanes of Interstate 26 for the first time on Wednesday so that all lanes of traffic were headed west and out of Charleston. Plans to reverse the lanes were put in place after hourslong traffic jams during Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

Haley planned to call for more evacuations Thursday, which would bring the total to about 500,000 people in the state. Florida urged or ordered about 1.5 million to leave the coast, said Jackie Schutz, spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Scott. About 50,000 people were told to go in Georgia.

Early Thursday, Matthew’s centre was about 255 miles southeast of West Palm Beach, Florida, and slogging ever closer at a clip of 12 mph.

Yet despite evacuation orders and dire warnings, Robert and Georgette Tyler said they were staying put in their 500-square foot rental home in Cape Canaveral, undeterred that Matthew might soon be pounding at their door.

Taking a break from putting plywood on windows, Robert Tyler said he feared getting stuck in traffic and that it was too much trouble to pack up his motorcycles and firearms. He has two generators, 50 gallons of fuel and enough food and water for a week. Plus, he is a handyman and his phone will be ringing off the hook once the storm passes.

“It’s part of Florida life I guess, especially on the coast,” he said.

Kennedy reported from Fort Lauderdale. Associated Press reporters Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Freida Frisaro in Miami, Jennifer Kay in Miami Beach, Florida; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; Martha Waggoner in Raleigh, North Carolina; Jeffrey Collins, Jack Jones and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina; and Bruce Smith in Charleston, South Carolina, contributed to this report.</s>Hurricane Matthew: Here is the latest forecast

Hurricane Matthew will continue to affect millions of people along the Southeast coast Friday with driving rain, ferocious winds and devastating storm surge flooding.

Areas at greatest risk from the storm Friday and Saturday are the northeastern Florida coasts and coastal sections of Georgia and South Carolina, where hurricane warnings remain in effect.</s>Motorists line up at a gas station in Mount Pleasant, S.C., on Tuesday to fill their gas tanks in advance of Hurricane Matthew which is expected to affect the South Carolina coast by the weekend. Gov. Nikki Haley announced Tuesday that, unless the track of the storm changes, the state will issue an evacuation order Wednesday to help get 1 million people inland from the coast. (AP Photo/Bruce Smith)</s>Major natural disasters the month before an election always have political consequences, and with the crucial battleground state of Florida being among the first hit by the storm, campaigning has been interrupted in a state both sides see as a path to the presidency.

The deadline to register in Florida is Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook told reporters Thursday that the campaign's "hope would be that a little bit more time will be given for people who were expecting to be able to get registered before the election."

South Carolina, which is also in the path of the storm, originally had its voter registration deadline Saturday. But the state election commission on Thursday extended that deadline to Tuesday, given Post offices and government buildings being closed for the storm and for Monday's Columbus Day holiday. Swing state North Carolina is also in the path of the storm and is a hotly contested state in November. But its voter registration deadline in that state isn't until next Friday. Democrats have been outpacing Republicans in early voting measures in both Florida and North Carolina. After Scott's decision, Democrats and election experts piled on the governor, saying it was a poor decision. "Gov. Scott is awful. Is disenfranchising voters really the GOP's only strategy to try to win? Sadly it seems so," wrote Democratic campaign lawyer Marc Elias on Twitter. Gov. Scott is awful. Is disenfranchising voters really the GOP's only strategy to try to win? Sadly it seems so. https://t.co/y90nk0upPU — Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) October 7, 2016 "A sign of dying party is the belief that less people exercising the right to vote is key to victory," wrote Dan Pfeiffer, a former adviser to President Barack Obama. A sign of dying party is the belief that less people exercising the right to vote is key to victory https://t.co/WL7UFN2s0U — Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) October 7, 2016 University of Florida Research Foundation political science professor Daniel A. Smith also criticized Scott's decision, saying it would have a public safety benefit. "Seriously, ‪@FLGovScott? "Everybody has had plenty of time to register."?? In 2012, 50k citizens reg'd in last 5 days before Oct 8 deadline," Smith tweeted. He added : "Had @FLGovScott extended voter registration deadline, Floridians could focus solely on lives/family/property and do VR in coming weeks." Seriously, @FLGovScott? "Everybody has had plenty of time to register."?? In 2012, 50k citizens reg'd in last 5 days before Oct 8 deadline — daniel a. smith (@electionsmith) October 7, 2016 Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, along with Deputy FEMA Administrator Joe Nimmich, briefed Clinton and Trump on Hurricane Matthew's expected impact and the federal response over the phone, DHS spokeswoman Marsha Catron said in a statement.</s>AT the time of writing I am in a hotel in Orlando, Florida, awaiting Hurricane Matthew.

Apart from Bawbag, I have never ­experienced a hurricane and from listening to the news reports, Hurricane Matthew is going to make Bawbag seem like a light breeze.

I am in Orlando for wrestling shows and when the Florida governor came on the news to issue a statement, saying: “You must leave now, before it’s too late,” I thought it would have been time to get out of here.
• Real life TV on the box beats your made-up Hollywood blockbusters any day

Instead, the show went on and I wrestled in front of a crowd of fewer than 100 punters.

People are packing up their lives into a suitcase to flee the area, yet I’m still packing my leotard into my bag to go and roll about a wrestling ring.

You can’t get away from the warnings here, even the normal non-news telly ­channels have big banners across the screen telling you to get up off your backside and prepare.

I woke up on Wednesday morning to an emergency alert on my phone that was sent to everyone in the area informing us that the ­hurricane was going to hit.

That gave me a bit of a fright.

I posted a screengrab of the alert to my Facebook, which probably wasn’t the best idea. I didn’t know the extent of how Hurricane Matthew had been reported back home.

I ended up with loads of messages telling me to stay safe, which gave me a bit of a riddy.
• Grado on being a man in demand and living the fast life

Even my brother texted me calling me a drama queen for putting it online. He said that I did the same thing when I had been in Orlando in June, just a few miles away from the Pulse nightclub shootings.

He texted me: “You’re such a drama queen, posting that on Facebook, ‘Oh look at me I’m in danger, everybody worry about me #PrayForGrado.”

I even got a call from my mum, who was close to greeting on the phone, telling me to keep her updated.

The thing is, over here the mood is a bit different.

People are trying to make the best out of a bad ­situation. I am with a big crew of American wrestlers who have been through this before.

Once the place has battened down the hatches, the procedure is to throw a hurricane party in the hotel rooms.

Last night, we went to the supermarket to prepare. The place was absolutely mobbed. The shocking things is, some places are taking advantage of the storm and ripping folk off on stuff like food and water.
• Grado on having an enjoyable day out at the Edinburgh Fringe ... even without the Krispy Kremes

A petrol station we went to was selling a wee pack of bottled water for nearly 20 bucks. Outrageous.

While families were stocking up on tinned food and cereal bars, the ­wrestlers have been raiding the fridges for packs of beer and buying big packs of Cheetos crisps and loads of American chocolate – which is rotten.

I have always been threatening to start driving in America because I’ve been here that often this year. I usually end up changing my mind once I get to Glasgow airport and end up in the boozer and drinking on my flight, which stops me from renting a motor once I come off the plane.

But at the weekend, I managed to stick to cups of tea and finally got the guts to get a car instead of having to talk to American taxi drivers about the US elections on every trip, which was burstin’ ma heid.

Don’t get me wrong, I was biffin’ out once I drove my Chevrolet Cruz out the hire place. It felt weird running a red light to turn right but it wasn’t long before I got the hang of it.

I’ve only had about 37 beeps of horns from other drivers since Saturday, no bad. I just hope the insurance covers me for hurricane damage.
• Grado on how toilet troubles led to him quitting chocolate and McDonalds ... and it's a bummer

Right now I am sitting at a computer in the hotel reception, all the TVs are blaring and the newsreader has just said that the hurricane has intensified.

The two black female hotel ­receptionists have just started holding hands, beltin’ oot gospel songs.

I don’t know if that’s supposed to calm folk down but it’s freaking me oot.

I’ve dealt wae Bawbag now it’s time to take on Matthew heid on.

It’s time to get the crisps oot and as Simon Pegg says in the Shaun of the Dead movie: “Have a nice cold pint, and wait till this all blows over”.</s>CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Matthew spun dangerously close to Florida's Atlantic coast Friday morning, scraping the shore with howling wind and heavy rain and that left more than 400,000 without power.

Matthew was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane overnight with the strongest winds of 120 mph just offshore as the storm pushed north around dawn, threatening more than 500 miles of coastline in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. A 107 mph gust was recorded in Cape Canaveral.

Two million people were warned to flee inland to escape a potentially catastrophic blow from a storm that left more than 280 dead in its wake across the Caribbean, but many hunkered down and hoped for the best despite dire warnings.

People who refused to evacuate from central Florida's Atlantic coast found themselves cut off and were calling for help as Matthew's western eyewall brushed past Cape Canaveral, officials said.

Brevard County Emergency Operations spokesman David Waters said he talked to families who said things like, "We're scared. We wish we hadn't stayed." One family called in that the roof "just flew off their home on Merritt Island," Waters said.

Robert Tyler had feared a storm surge flooding his street, which is only two blocks from the Cape Canaveral beach. But he and his wife, Georgette, felt fortunate Friday morning when they looked out the front door of their one-story cinder block apartment and there wasn't much water.

"Overnight, it was scary as heck. That description of a freight train is pretty accurate," he said.

In Cape Canaveral, John Long rode out the storm in his 32-foot camper in a park about half a mile from the beach.

He lost power shortly before dawn but quickly fired up his generator. Small tree branches battered the vehicle but the large ones on the park's giant oak trees didn't fall.

"It was kind of loud and kind of shaky but nothing that caused too much concern," he said.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott called it a "blessing" Friday morning that so far Florida was avoiding a direct hit as the storm sliced northward.

Still Scott stressed during a television appearance on "CBS This Morning" and NBC's "Today" show that there was still time for people living in the Jacksonville area to evacuate. The storm was expected to bring a large volume of water onshore and Scott noted there are a lot of low-lying areas in northeast Florida.

"There's no reason to be taking a risk," he said.

Moe than 1.5 million people in Florida were asked to evacuate ahead of Matthew, the first major hurricane storm to hit the state in 11 years.

The number of homes and businesses without power jumped by the hour as the storm edged closer to the coast. More than 420,000 were in the dark by Friday morning.

As of 7 a.m. EDT Friday, the hurricane was brushing Cape Canaveral, according to the National Hurricane Center. Matthew was centered about 35 miles east of Cape Canaveral and moving north-northwest around 14 mph.

After Florida, forecasters said Matthew would probably hug the coast of Georgia and South Carolina over the weekend before veering out to sea — perhaps even looping back toward Florida in the middle of next week as a tropical storm.

The hurricane had been a potentially catastrophic Category 4 storm, but weakened slightly early Friday to a Category 3. Forecasters said it could dump up to 15 inches of rain in some spots and cause a storm surge of 9 feet or more.

They said the major threat to the Southeast would not be the winds — which newer buildings can withstand — but the massive surge of seawater that could wash over coastal communities along a 500-mile stretch from South Florida to the Charleston, South Carolina, area.

President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency for Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, freeing up federal money and personnel to protect lives and property.

The Fort Lauderdale and Orlando airports shut down. Airlines canceled more than 3,000 flights Thursday and Friday, many of them in or out of Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Amtrak suspended train service between Miami and New York, and cruise lines rerouted ships to avoid the storm, which in some cases will mean more days at sea.

"I never get time off. I'm a little sad," tourist Amber Klinkel, 25, of Battle Creek, Michigan, lamented at Universal.

Patients were transferred from two Florida waterfront hospitals and a nursing home near Daytona Beach to safer locations.

Thousands of people hunkered down in schools converted to shelters, and inland hotels in places such as Charlotte, North Carolina, reported brisk business.

At the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, NASA no longer has to worry about rolling space shuttles back from the launch pad to the hangar because of hurricanes, since the shuttle fleet is now retired. But the spaceflight company SpaceX was concerned about the storm's effect on its leased seaside pad.

The last Category 3 storm or higher to hit the U.S. was Wilma in October 2005. It sliced across Florida with 120 mph winds, killing five people and causing an estimated $21 billion in damage.

With hurricane-force winds extending outward up to 60 miles, Matthew could wreak havoc along the U.S. coast even if its center stayed offshore.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal ordered an evacuation of the entire Georgia coast, covering more than a half-million people. It was the first hurricane evacuation along the Georgia coast since 1999, when the state narrowly escaped Floyd.

"We have a house that sits right here on the water and we kind of said goodbye to it thinking that, you know, the house ... might not be here when we get back," said Jennifer Banker, a resident of Georgia's dangerously exposed St. Simons Island. "You know, we pray a lot and trust God to provide."</s>CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Hurricane Matthew pelted Florida with heavy rain late Thursday as the center of the deadly storm steamed toward the coast with winds of 130 mph. Across the nation's Southeast, 2 million people were warned to flee inland.

It is the most powerful storm to threaten the Atlantic coast in a decade.

"This storm's a monster," Gov. Rick Scott warned as it started lashing the state with periodic heavy rains and squalls around nightfall. He added, "I'm going to pray for everybody's safety."

As it moved north in the evening, Matthew stayed about 100 miles off south Florida's coast, sparing 4.4 million people in the Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas from its strongest winds.

"We were lucky this time," Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said.

By Thursday night, more than 80,000 homes and businesses were without electricity. Streets in Vero Beach were partially covered with water, and hotel guests in Orlando were told to stay inside.

The lobby of the Loews Sapphire Falls Resort in Orlando was crowded with people and pets, including dogs occasionally snapping at one another. Some meals were served buffet style, while other people waited more than two hours for a pizza delivery.

Early today, Matthew was expected to blow ashore north of Palm Beach County, which has about 1.4 million people, and then slowly push north for the next 12 hours along the Interstate 95 corridor through Cape Canaveral and Jacksonville, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.

Forecasters said Matthew would then probably hug the coast of Georgia and South Carolina over the weekend before veering out to sea -- perhaps even looping back toward Florida in the middle of next week as a tropical storm.

The hurricane picked up wind speed as it closed in on Florida, growing from a Category 3 to a Category 4 by Thursday morning.

Forecasters said it could dump up to 15 inches of rain in some spots and cause a storm surge of 9 feet or more.

They said the biggest threat to the Southeast would not be the punishing winds -- which newer buildings can withstand -- but the surge of seawater expected to wash over coastal communities along a 500-mile stretch from south Florida to Charleston, S.C.

Millions of people in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina were told to evacuate their homes, and interstate highways were turned into one-way routes out to speed the exodus. Florida's evacuation order alone accounted for roughly 1.5 million people.

"The storm has already killed people. We should expect the same impact in Florida," Scott warned.

Governors in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina declared states of emergency.

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal ordered a mandatory evacuation of the entire Georgia coast, affecting more than 500,000 people. The Georgia coast hasn't had a hurricane evacuation since 1999, when it narrowly escaped being hit by Floyd.

"We have a house that sits right here on the water, and we kind of said goodbye to it thinking that, you know, the house ... might not be here when we get back," said Jennifer Banker, a resident of Georgia's St. Simons Island. "You know, we pray a lot and trust God to provide."

On Thursday, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory said at a briefing that while he's optimistic, given the latest forecasts, the storm will likely still cause flooding and power failures in southeastern counties. The state is moving most of its swift-water rescue teams into those parts of the state, McCrory said, in anticipation of heavy flooding.

President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency for Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, freeing up federal money and personnel to protect lives and property.

As of 10 p.m. Central time, Matthew was 125 miles southeast of Cape Canaveral, moving northwest at 13 mph.

Many boarded up their homes and businesses and left them to the mercy of the storm.

"We're not going to take any chances on this one," said Daniel Myras, who struggled to find enough plywood to protect his restaurant, the Cruisin Cafe, two blocks from the Daytona Beach boardwalk.

He added: "A lot of people here, they laugh, and say they've been through storms before, and they're not worried. But I think this is the one that's going to give us a wake-up call."

The Fort Lauderdale airport shut down, and the Orlando airport planned to do so, as well. Airlines canceled more than 3,000 flights scheduled for Thursday and today, many of them in or out of Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

Amtrak suspended train service between Miami and New York, and cruise lines rerouted ships to avoid the storm, which in some cases will mean more days at sea.

In inland Orlando, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld announced Thursday that they were closing early.

At the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, NASA no longer has to worry about rolling space shuttles back from the launch pad to the hangar because of hurricanes, since the shuttle fleet is now retired. But the spaceflight company SpaceX was concerned about the storm's effect on its leased seaside pad.

As people hurried to higher ground, authorities in South Carolina said a motorist died Wednesday after being shot by deputies in a gunbattle that began when he sped away from a checkpoint along a storm evacuation route.

The last Category 3 storm or stronger to hit the U.S. was Wilma in October 2005. It sliced across Florida with 120 mph winds, killing five people and causing an estimated $21 billion in damage.

Some coastal residents this time have decided to take their chances and stay.

"We boarded up our house, and I boarded up my store," Deborah Whyte said at Florida's Jupiter Beach Park. "And we're just hunkering down and waiting for it."

Bottled water was scarce at many stores. Bread and canned goods were disappearing quickly.

Barbara Browning of Oviedo said she got some of the last loaves of bread at Wal-Mart.

"I'm not too worried about the storm, but we could lose power and who knows how long it would take to get that back on," Browning said.

At a Home Depot near Stirling Road in Hollywood -- between Miami and Fort Lauderdale in Florida's Broward County -- two employees secured seven sturdy pieces of plywood to the roof of black Hyundai sedan.

"It took us about three hours to get in and out," Alex Ozenaski said outside the store. "We had just moved to south Florida when Hurricane Wilma hit in 2005. We weren't prepared. This time, we are almost prepared."

Among the coastal communities in danger are two of the South's most historic cities, with many beautifully maintained antebellum homes: Charleston, S.C., which got slammed by Hurricane Hugo in 1989, and Savannah, Ga., which last took a direct hit from a hurricane in 1898.

"Hurricane Matthew is a storm not to be messed with," Savannah Mayor Eddie DeLoach said. "If you decide to ride it out, do not expect us to be there to help you."

Darcy O'Connor, a restaurant owner who lives in a row house in Savannah, said she and most of her neighbors were not evacuating.

O'Connor noted that her home, built in 1883, has weathered hurricanes before: "Half the windows, if you look, still have the original glass. So that tells you something."

Information for this article was contributed by Mike Schneider, Kelli Kennedy, Terry Spencer, Jennifer Kay, Freida Frisaro, Curt Anderson, Marcia Dunn, Russ Bynum, Martha Waggoner, Jeffrey Collins, Jack Jones, Meg Kinnard and Bruce Smith of The Associated Press; by Mark Berman, Jason Samenow, Angela Fritz, Lori Aratani, Susan Hogan, Francisco Alvarado and Kirk Ross of The Washington Post; and by Paul Brinkmann, Kyle Arnold and Marco Santana of the Orlando Sentinel.</s>Hurricane Matthew is the most powerful Caribbean storm in a decade and is currently sweeping its way up the eastern seaboard of the United States.

The storm has already wreaked havoc in Haiti, leaving hundreds dead, buildings flattened and thousands of victims cut off from relief efforts.

It has now moved on to America and has hit Florida where airports and theme parks have closed, trains have been cancelled and residents in some parts of the state have been urged to evacuate their homes.

More than 200,000 residents have been left without power as the “monster” storm has whipped the coastline of the US.

With Florida such a popular destination with British tourists the UK Government has offered advice for those visiting the state and neighbouring Georgia and South Carolina to stay safe.

In its travel guidance the Government warns: “Hurricane Matthew is forecast to bring hazardous sea and weather conditions to parts of the east coast of the US from 6 October 2016.

“Strong winds, heavy rain, flooding, and storm surge in coastal areas is expected. Sporadic tornadoes are possible. Hurricane warnings and watches have been issued, triggering evacuation orders in several areas of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

“You should monitor weather reports and follow the advice of the local authorities, including if you’re ordered to evacuate.

“For more information and advice visit the websites of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state emergency management authorities in: Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

“If you’re in an affected area, you should call family members and friends in the UK to let them know your plans before and after the hurricane.”

If you are due to fly to Florida in the coming days please check with your airline/travel provider for the latest information.

Thomas Cook has warned that several of its flights from UK airports to Orlando have been delayed

In a statement, the travel operator said: “We will continue to keep our customers up to date with information as soon as we are aware of the schedule changes.

“We know that this can be upsetting when you want to know what is happening, but we also want to ensure that we give you the correct information, and that we do everything we can to get you to your destination to enjoy your holiday.”</s>Hurricane Matthew weakens as it moves to the north

ORLANDO, Fla. — A slight wobble in the track of Hurricane Matthew early Friday morning may have saved Florida from potentially catastrophic conditions and instead turned the storm into a major — but still dangerous — wind-and-rain machine.

The storm’s eye has become slightly disorganized as it dropped to a Category 3 hurricane with winds of about 120 mph. At 11 a.m. EDT, the center was located about 35 miles off the coast of New Smyrna Beach as the storm chugged north toward Jacksonville and the neighboring state of Georgia.

Residents of south and central Florida awoke to find high winds and minor flooding but none of the devastation that occurred in Haiti, where the death toll is expected to rise to more than 400. Rescue workers there have been cut off from the hard-hit southwest peninsula, where images show flattened buildings and widespread destruction, the result of 140 mph winds.

No major damage was reported in southern Florida. Gov. Rick Scott said that Florida Fish and Wildlife officers are conducting searches in areas where the storm has passed, and no issues have been found. He also said Florida Highway Patrol has not reported any problems. Scott added that no fatalities have been reported.

Both the Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports as well as the Port Everglades cruise ship terminal were expected to reopen on Friday. Power was already being restored to parts of South Florida.

In central Florida, the Sanford-Orlando Airport was expected to remain closed all day, but it was hoped that the larger Orlando International Airport would be able to have limited service by day’s end. Disney World closed for only the fourth time in its history. Sea World and Universal were also closed on Friday.

Central Florida will continue to deal with Matthew on Friday morning, though forecasters said the area “dodged a bullet” because the strongest part of the storm stayed offshore.

“There was no landfall,” said Scott Kelly, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Melbourne, Fla.

Cape Canaveral was slapped with gusts of 115 mph around 5 a.m., and the more populated Melbourne area reported winds of 77 mph. Kelly said the weather service expects coastal areas and barrier islands to take the worst of the storm.

Most of the damage in Brevard County, which for decades has been the home to the space program, was restricted to blown-out windows and downed trees and power lines.

More than 500,000 people were without power in the state, including at least 180,000 — half the population — in Brevard County.

The storm passed off the coast of Daytona Beach by late-morning as it was making its way north to Jacksonville. There were reports of trees falling on houses and some roofing torn off in Volusia County, but no damage assessment was immediately available.

The major concern Friday morning was storm surge, which could reach 10 feet. Georgia and South Carolina seemed especially vulnerable as the U.S. coastline jogs significantly to the east.

“We are very concerned about the storm surge and the worst effects are still likely to come,” Scott said. “Remember, Jacksonville has a lot of low-lying area, especially Nassau County. We’re very focused on Jacksonville and there is concern of significant flooding there.”

The storm was expected to be off the coast of Jacksonville no later than 8 p.m.

President Barack Obama, speaking from the Oval Office, warned that the situation is not over, but credited the governors of the four states that may be affected for being on top of things.

“I just want to emphasize to everybody that this is still a dangerous hurricane,” Obama said.

“We can always replace properties but we can’t replace lives. Even though the damage in south Florida was not as bad as it could be, there are people who have been affected and they are going to need help.”

The storm was originally expected to have a greater and more dangerous impact on the state. Scott had warned residents that the storm was capable of killing, causing local officials to close schools and public buildings well in advance.

Scott credited that preparedness as a key to the lack of significant damage.

“There is no victory lap yet,” Scott said. “There won’t be that until the storm leaves the state … and everyone’s lives return to normal.”

Many central Florida communities imposed curfews, which will stay in effect until 7 a.m. on Saturday.

The Orange County sheriff’s office said two people were arrested for violating curfew and in nearby Sanford, a man was arrested for trying to break into a Dollar General store.</s>MINOT, N.D.—As millions of people are evacuating the area expected to be hit by Hurricane Matthew, groups of volunteers from North Dakota will be driving into the storm.

"It's pretty scary," said Carol Becker, a Red Cross volunteer from Minot.

With her husband, Allen, she'll take an emergency response vehicle 1,800 miles to Tallahassee, Fla.

"We're kind of hoping we don't get right in the middle of it," she said.

Driving into an emergency scenario is nothing new for the Beckers, who returned in late August from a Red Cross response to flooding in Baton Rouge, La. Allen Becker has been a Red Cross volunteer since 2008, and Carol Becker joined in 2010 after the two met. They helped during the 2011 flood in Minot and in Montana wildfires. This isn't even their first hurricane response.

"We actually flew in to the Sandy one just as it hit," she said about the 2012 hurricane that struck the eastern United States.

Rob Stotz, western North Dakota disaster program manager for the Red Cross, said six people from North Dakota were planning to head to Florida as of 11:30 a.m. Thursday, with calls out for more help. About 20 people will deploy from the region, made up of North Dakota, South Dakota and part of Minnesota.

"We typically send a dozen if not more to something like this," he said.

When devastating floods hit North Dakota in 2009 and 2011, Red Cross volunteers from across the nation rushed to help, Stotz said.

"We're all in this together," he said. "If it's not them today, it's going to be us tomorrow."

For the Beckers, the desire to be of assistance to others is what drives them to spend weeks at a time in areas of devastation and destruction.

"We really just enjoy going out and helping people," Carol Becker said.

Since they are taking an emergency response vehicle, the Beckers assume they will be on meal duty — making sure people in the disaster area get two hot meals a day — during their two weeks in Florida. Stotz said other duties include managing shelters or handing out supplies during the cleanup process.

"There's a lot of little things that go on," he said.

"When we get down there, whatever they ask us to do we'll do," Carol Becker said. "You have to be flexible and work with whatever they say needs to be done."

For her, seeing the difference she can make in someone else's life makes the effort all worth it. In Louisiana earlier this summer, the Beckers saw a little girl crying every day at meal time. Carol Becker learned from the girl's mother that they had lost her "best friend" — the stuffed animal she slept with every night.

Carol Becker gave the girl a little stuffed dog, and she was amazed at the difference in the little girl the next day. She was smiling and laughing, and her mother said she slept well the night before for the first time since losing her toy.

"Stuff like that really sticks with me," Carol Becker said.

Stotz said people who want to volunteer with the Red Cross can visit www.redcross.org to begin the screening and vetting process. Volunteers will be trained for emergency response.

Not all responses are to faraway places. The Beckers respond to fires in the Minot area to help with things such as shelter, and Stotz said the Red Cross also lines up counseling for those affected by fires and other disasters. Other Red Cross projects include fire education programs for elementary school students and a program that has volunteers helping check and replace smoke detectors in homes throughout the state.

"The American Red Cross is pretty active in our own little communities, small amounts of people doing a heavy lift," Stotz said.

He said monetary donations also are vital to the Red Cross response. Donations can be made at www.redcross.org or by calling 800-REDCROSS. Text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
Hurricane Matthew moves towards the United States with hundreds of thousands of people being evacuated from the states of Florida and South Carolina.