Florida To Declare Emergency Before Embracing Hurricane Matthew

Hundreds of thousands of people are being evacuated in South Carolina and Florida amid the roaring of Hurricane Matthew that is getting closer to the United States after leaving Haiti where sixteen people were killed and mass destruction has been witnessed.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott has urged US President Barack Obama to declare a pre-landfall emergency in the state and simultaneously activate about one thousand more National Guard members to make the total reach 2,500.

Scott has also asked Obama to suspend all tolls in Florida Turnpike, Alligator Alley, Central Florida Expressway Authority, Miami-Dade Expressway Authority and other affected areas.

Scott added, “Based on the most recent forecast I received from the National Hurricane Center, the eye of Hurricane Matthew is going to be much closer to Florida… There are hurricane watches and warnings along Florida’s entire east coast and we now have Tropical Storm warnings on Florida’s Gulf Coast. This storm is serious and protecting life remains our number one priority.”

On Sunday the hurricane struck Haiti with strong winds of 145-mph and is reported to have killed at least three people as of now.

At around 2 a.m. ET Monday the hurricane plodded along at about 8 mph. It was then 60 miles south of Tiburon and about 165 miles away from capital Port-au-Prince.