CHARLESTON, S.C. — South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley declared a state of emergency on Tuesday and ordered an evacuation of more than a million people in coastal areas starting Wednesday afternoon in anticipation of Hurricane Matthew.

Florida and Georgia have also called states of emergency for a storm that has pounded the Caribbean with 145 mile-per-hour winds and surging seas and was expected to start affecting U.S. coastal areas late on Thursday or early Friday.

Haley pleaded with people to get 100 miles away from the coast, but did not say if there would be penalties for those who refuse to comply.

"We don't do voluntary or mandatory anymore. An evacuation is an evacuation," Haley told reporters.

By declaring a state of emergency, Haley can mobilize 1,800 members of the National Guard.

Highways will have all traffic lanes directed away from the coast for the evacuation, and the state will close schools and county government offices in 26 of the state's 46 counties staring Wednesday.

Matthew will be a Category 2 or Category 3 hurricane when it brushes or hits South Carolina on Friday night, she said. Officials anticipate 100 mph winds and five- to seven-foot storm surges in coastal South Carolina, she said.

Heavy storms in South Carolina last October killed at least 17 people.

Several coastal schools, universities and municipalities, including the city of North Charleston, announced they would close starting on Wednesday.

Emergency officials in the Myrtle Beach area advised residents of evacuation zones and routes.

Florida Governor Rick Scott, who declared a state of emergency for all 67 counties on Monday, has activated 200 members of the Florida National Guard to support any needed hurricane response and put another 6,000 on standby.

Other state agencies prepared by ensuring fuel supplies in potential evacuation zones, readying shelters and highways to handle any evacuees, and taking inventory of emergency food supplies in state schools and warehouses.

In Georgia, Governor Nathan Deal issued a state of emergency for 13 counties in coastal areas.

"I've ordered the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMHSA) to work with appropriate state and local agencies to ensure all precautions are taken to protect residents and minimize risks to property and roads," Deal said in a statement.</s>A storm track by the National Hurricane Center shows the path Hurricane Matthew is expected to take through Sunday. Forecasters said it may deliver a direct hit on the coasts of North and South Carolina. Image courtesy National Hurricane Center

COLUMBIA, S.C., Oct. 4 (UPI) -- More than a million residents who live near the South Carolina coast should get at least 100 miles away from their homes before Hurricane Matthew arrives, Gov. Nikki Haley said Tuesday.

During a news conference, Gov. Haley said the storm's greatest impact is expected Friday and early Saturday and could mean big trouble.

"I would love nothing more than to see this just suddenly take a right hand turn and head back out to sea, but as of right now, we're looking at Friday night into Saturday being pretty brutal," she said.

"It's not going to be a fast evacuation, but what we ask is that you be patient and understand that it could take up to several hours," she added. "If you can leave early, do that."

Haley advised about 1.1 million people who live in the state's coastal areas to leave by the time the category 4 hurricane arrives.

The governor did not specify what type of evacuation she is implementing.

"An evacuation is an evacuation," she said, adding that coastal residents should move at least 100 miles inland.

To aid the evacuations, Haley said lane reversals on highways near the coastlines, including the Interstate 26 corridor, will begin at 3 p.m. EDT Wednesday.

Haley said the time of the evacuation could change if Matthew alters course or the expected weather conditions improve or worsen.

Officials plan to send hundreds of buses to the coast to shuttle some of the residents away from Matthew's path.

Forecasters said Tuesday that the storm's track shows it could deliver a direct hit on the Carolinas this weekend.</s>South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says she plans to issue an evacuation order Wednesday ahead of Hurricane Matthew so that 1 million people can safely and comfortably leave the coast.

Haley said at a Tuesday news conference that she will finalize the order Wednesday morning, unless there is a major shift in the storm’s track. Haley says she expects the evacuation to begin at 3 p.m. EDT Wednesday.

State officials say lanes on major evacuation routes will be reversed. It would be the first major evacuation since Hurricane Floyd in 1999, when the governor at the time didn’t reverse the lanes and Interstate 26 became backed up for hours and traffic was at a standstill. A two-hour drive from Charleston to Columbia turned into 24-hour nightmare.

U.S. President Barack Obama will speak Wednesday at the Federal Emergency Management Agency about the federal response to Hurricane Matthew.

Obama had been scheduled to travel to Florida on Wednesday for campaign events and a health care event. But the White House says the trip is being postponed because of the hurricane.

Instead, Obama will travel to the agency’s Washington headquarters to meet with officials coordinating the response. FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate will brief Obama on the latest developments if scheduling allows.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest says Obama will be updated on the weather forecast and on operational aspects of preparing for the impacts of the severe weather.

The White House says that U.S. President Barack Obama has been updated on the path of Hurricane Matthew and its potential impact in the Caribbean and the United States.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Tuesday that federal officials have been deployed to state emergency operations centers in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

Earnest also says relief supplies have been prepositioned in the region.

The White House also says that U.S. foreign disaster assistance teams have been deployed to Haiti, Jamaica and the Bahamas to ensure that relief efforts are coordinated if U.S. assistance is needed.

Earnest also says that regional response coordination centers in Atlanta and Philadelphia will begin round-the-clock operations Tuesday. And the national response coordination center in Washington will begin 24-hour operations with full staffing on Thursday.

Earnest says relief supplies are being moved into Albany, Georgia and Fort Bragg, North Carolina, so they can be delivered to affected areas quickly after the storm has passed.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott says residents need to be prepared for a direct from Hurricane Matthew.

Scott said while visiting the Daytona Beach area that evacuation orders could be issued as early as Tuesday.

He says Florida could start to feel the hurricane’s impact in two or three days.

The governor says his biggest worry is that residents won’t take seriously the threat from Matthew if an evacuation order is issued, especially since so many new residents have never lived through a hurricane.

Scott says even if Matthew stays of land, Florida will still feel tropical storm-force winds.

He says 200 National Guardsmen have been activated, and another 6,600 National Guardsmen are at the ready.

Hurricane Matthew is expected to interrupt mosquito control efforts to stop the spread of the Zika virus in the Miami area.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said Tuesday that spraying pesticides would not be effective in the tropical storm-force winds expected in the region later this week.

Gimenez said mosquitoes aren’t likely to be flying around during the storm, but “the Zika prevention efforts will have to stop during those times.”

Gov. Rick Scott said Florida residents should drain standing water from their properties before and after the hurricane to reduce the threat of mosquito-borne viruses.

State health officials have said Miami Beach is the only area where Zika is currently being transmitted, but other infections are being investigated elsewhere in Miami-Dade County and in Palm Beach County.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane watch for South Florida.

The center issued the watch from Deerfield Beach to the Volusia/Brevard county line.

A hurricane watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area.

A tropical storm watch also is in effect from the Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys northward to south of Deerfield Beach, including Lake Okeechobee.

Officials in the Dominican Republic are reporting that at least four people died when heavy rains linked to Hurricane Matthew damaged their homes.

Emergency Operations Center coordinator Juan Manuel Mendez told a news conference Tuesday that three children were killed when the walls of their homes collapsed in a poor neighborhood in Santo Domingo. An elderly person died in a neighboring province.

That would bring the total death toll from the storm to at least seven.

Rescue agencies in the country say the downpours have destroyed at least two homes and damaged 190 others. Close to 18,000 people living in vulnerable areas have been evacuated and taken to the homes of relatives or to shelters.

Tropical Storm Nicole has formed in the Atlantic.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami says the storm currently poses no threat to land. Nicole is located about 525 miles (840kmh) northwest of San Juan Puerto Rico. It has maximum sustained winds near 50 mph (85kph) with higher gusts.

Little change in strength is expected for the next day or so, followed by gradual weakening.

With Hurricane Matthew expected to impact the South Carolina coast by the weekend, the American Red Cross is issuing a call for volunteers.

Louise Welch Williams, the CEO of the Palmetto, South Carolina Region of the agency based in North Charleston, said Tuesday the Red Cross needs volunteers in the Charleston, Bluffton and Georgetown areas.

The agency says it especially needs volunteers to assist with sheltering and feeding those who may be affected by the hurricane. The agency said volunteers will likely be needed to help residents across the state of South Carolina.

Projections from the National Hurricane Center show that the storm is expected to be off the South Carolina coast early Saturday with maximum winds of about 100 mph.

Gov. Rick Scott is urging residents up and down Florida’s Interstate 95 corridor to start preparing for “direct impacts” of Hurricane Matthew.

Scott was in the Florida Keys Tuesday morning for a briefing on the Category 4 storm that is currently moving over the southwestern coast of Haiti. The storm is heading toward Cuba and the southeastern coast of Florida.

The governor warned residents to take the storm seriously, adding “we cannot rule out a direct hit.” He says heavy rain, spin off tornadoes, high winds and beach erosion are among the concerns in Florida.

He asked residents to listen for directions from local officials and to “prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”

Scott and other officials are urging people to have at least a three-day supply of food, water and medicine on hand. Also, Scott urged people to get gas in their vehicles and to keep cellphones charged in case of electrical power loss.

National Hurricane Center Director Rick Knabb says Hurricane Matthew will continue to have a devastating impact on Haiti, even after landfall.

Knabb says the storm is about to emerge back over water but there’ll still be heavy rainfall that’s likely to cause flash floods and mudslides, along with strong winds and storm surges.

The hurricane is heading to eastern Cuba, but Knabb says the island’s mountains aren’t expected to have much effect on the storm.

Knabb says tropical storm or hurricane watches may be issued for parts of southeastern Florida later Tuesday. A high pressure ridge is nudging Matthew toward Florida and blocking its path due north from the Bahamas.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says the Category 4 storm made landfall around 7 a.m. EDT Tuesday near Les Anglais, Haiti. Matthew’s maximum sustained winds are near 145 mph (230 kph).

The hurricane has pounded the southwestern coast of Haiti, threatening a largely rural corner of the impoverished country with devastating storm conditions as it heads north toward Cuba and the eastern coast of Florida.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott will make several stops at emergency management offices in the Florida Keys, Daytona Beach and north Florida to give updates on Hurricane Matthew and the storm’s potential impact on the state.

Scott will be in Marathon at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, before moving upstate in the afternoon.

The Category 4 storm’s maximum sustained winds are near 145 mph (230 kph) as it crosses the southwest peninsula of Haiti, where it’s bringing life-threatening rain, wind and storm surge.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says another landfall is expected in eastern Cuba. Forecasters say a tropical storm watch or hurricane watch is likely for parts of Florida later Tuesday.

Senior Hurricane Specialist Richard Pasch says Florida residents should remain vigilant because they can’t “rule out the possibility of impacts.”

A hurricane warning has been issued Tuesday morning for the northwest Bahamas as Hurricane Matthew continues its march up the Caribbean.

The hurricane warning in the Bahamas includes the Abacos, Andros Island, Berry Islands, Bimini, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama Island, and New Providence.

In the meantime, Matthew’s eye is nearing the southwest peninsula of Haiti, where it’s bringing life-threatening rain, wind and storm surge.

The Category 4 storm’s maximum sustained winds are near 145 mph (230 kph).

Heavy rain has also fallen on Jamaica and dangerous rainfall is a threat for the Dominican Republic, which adjoins Haiti.</s>South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley ordered an evacuation of all coastal communities starting on Wednesday afternoon in anticipation of Hurricane Matthew, an area inhabited by more than a million people.

She advised people to get 100 miles (160 km) away from the coast. "We don't do voluntary or mandatory anymore. An evacuation is an evacuation," Haley told reporters.</s>S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley said coastal evacuations and school closings will start Wednesday.

Haley urged residents evacuating coastal communities to make sure they had a full tank of gasoline.

The goal is to make sure S.C. residents get 100 miles away from the coast, Haley said.

All of the coastal schools will be closed including in the following counties: Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston, Clarendon, Colleton, Darlington, Dillon, Dorchester, Florence, Gerogetown, Hampton, Horry, Jasper, Lee, Lexington, Marlboro, Orangeburg, Richland, Sumter, and Williamsburg.

Officials expect to evacuate 1.1 million residents from the coast. As a result, evacuations will not be fast and Haley asked residents to be patient and understand it could take several hours.

"You don't want to be caught in this,” Haley said. “If you don't get out in time, you might get stuck."

Lane reversals are planned from roads heading out of Charleston to start at 3 p.m. on Wednesday

Interstate 26 eastbound will be reversed, with traffic heading away from the cost until the intersection of I-26 and I-77 in Columbia. That means commuters in Columbia will not be able to travel I-26 eastbound out of Columbia. However, interstates will be functioning normally northwest of Columbia.

Haley called on Midlands residents to understand that traffic will snarl as coastal-area residents head inland.

Haley said she called for a state of emergency in South Carolina at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Governor Haley and state emergency officials plan to reassess their evacuation plan Wednesday morning.

The powerful category 4 storm made landfall in Haiti Tuesday and could hit South Carolina’s coast Saturday.</s>Meteorologists are warning residents along the South Carolina coast to prepare for major impacts from Hurricane Matthew as the huge storm makes its way up the East Coast later this week.

Matthew made landfall in Haiti this morning as a Category 4 hurricane, unleashing life-threatening 140-mph winds and heavy rains as it barreled through the Caribbean. At least three people have been killed so far, according to the Associated Press, and thousands have been forced from their homes.

The powerful storm system isn’t showing signs of weakening as it moves north, according to National Weather Service Meteorologist Michael Stroz.

“Matthew seems to be staying consistently strong,” Stroz said Tuesday morning. “ It could lose some strength as it tracks across mountains in Cuba over the next day or so, but, could possibly start strengthening after (it hits) the Bahamas.”

After the storm moves through Cuba, it may lose some strength as it makes its way up the Florida coast, but not by much.

“Matthew could be one of the worst storms we’ve seen in South Carolina in years,” Stroz said. “There is potential for major impacts across the area. It’s been quite a while since South Carolina has seen a major hurricane.”

National Weather Service models predict the storm could move along the South Carolina coast between Friday night and Saturday morning.

“It’s still pretty early, so it’s hard to predict how close to the coast Hurricane Matthew will track,” Stroz said. “So levels of impact are hard to predict at this time. It could make landfall or stay far offshore.”

No matter the track, the South Carolina coast will be impacted, he said.

“If it’s close to land, we could see major impacts from hurricane-level winds, heavy rains, flooding, and dangerous sea conditions,” Stroz said.

He said the National Weather Service in Charleston is encouraging South Carolinians to closely monitor the storm. “... People need to take it seriously,” he said.

When tracking the storm, Stroz said it’s important to pay attention to the entire system, not just the eye.

“The storm itself could be 100 miles wide, and anywhere in that area of impact could see dangerous winds and heavy rains,” Stroz said.

For example, the National Hurricane Center said that anywhere within 40 miles from the eye of the storm will see hurricane-level conditions. Anywhere within 180 miles will see tropical storm conditions, Stroz.

The entire East Coast is on alert this week as the storm leaves the Bahamas around Wednesday.

“This is a major system and everyone in South Carolina needs to be following the weather and preparing for the storm this week,” Stroz said.

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s office issued an alert Monday evening encouraging residents to prepare for flooding, especially in low-lying areas.

The Sheriff's Office Emergency Operations Center has scheduled a press conference at 2:30 p.m. today to discuss Hurricane Matthew preparations. The last evacuation of any kind for Beaufort County was in 2004, when Gov. Mark Sanford called for a voluntary evacuation for Hurricane Charley.

The S.C. Emergency Management Division has also begun initial preparations for Hurricane Matthew. Gov. Nikki Haley will hold a press conference today 3 p.m. to discuss Hurricane Matthew’s potential impact to the state.
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley urges 1.1 million coastal residents to evacuate before Matthew hits this weekend.