At just after midnight Friday, when Matthew roared menacingly closer toward Florida's Space Coast, the category 4 hurricane was already responsible for the deaths of more than 280 people in Haiti.
Nearly 100,000 Floridians, most Palm Beach and Treasure Coast residents, had already lost power. In fact, lights were going out as far west as Orlando.
But there was some good news at the late hour: Weathermen were reporting that the worst of the 130-mph winds -- if not the tidal surge or heavy rain -- likely would stay just offshore.
Gov. Rick Scott, meanwhile, had "finished a good day's work warning people what is involved in such a monster storm," said the Weather Channel veteran Bryan Norcross.
Scott met Thursday with emergency management officials in Tallahassee, Stuart and St. Augustine. And he appeared repeatedly on local and national television imploring residents of Florida's east coast, "Get out! This storm will kill you. If you're in an evacuation area, get out, get out, get out!"
Meanwhile, the top lawman in Martin County, a Treasure Coast county expected to take one of the heaviest hits from Hurricane Matthew, warned that he will need body bags if the holdouts who refuse to evacuate don't get out of town.
"People don't seem to get it and are not leaving," Martin County Sheriff William Snyder, a former state representative, said. "I'm not saying this to be theatrical ... I asked my captain of detectives if he had body bags because if we get 140 mph winds in mobile home parks, we are going to have fatalities."
In St. Lucie County to the north, Sheriff Ken Mascara echoed Snyder.
"We've dealt with storms in the past," Mascara said. "We've dealt with [Hurricanes] Charley, Frances, Jean, Wilma. This is like none of those."
The Weather Channel's Norcross tried to get through to the holdouts, too. He issued a firm, ominous warning to Florida's coastal residents choosing to ride out Hurricane Matthew.
"This is not hype, this is not hyperbole and I am not kidding ..." he said. "Do not assume you can survive if you choose to stay. There will be overwhelming damage and likely a heartbreaking loss of life. Based on everything we know, Matthew will make history. The Weather Channel does not want you to be part of that history."
By evening, when he delivered his final update to the people of Florida, Scott's voice was hoarse. "There are 1.5 million Floridians in our evacuation zone. Most of them are leaving or have left," he said. Nevertheless, there is still room in county shelters: "As of 6 p.m., 130 shelters were open throughout Florida," he said. "There aren't any capacity issues at shelters at this time."
Earlier Thursday, at Scott's urging, President Barack Obama signed an order to coordinate supplies and equipment for Florida in advance of Hurricane Matthew. Scott had requested the pre-storm relief that included water, food and tarps.
Scott and Obama talked together on the phone at 12:35 p.m. to discuss the hurricane.
Scott later said in a press release he wants the feds to provide even more. "I am asking the president for additional generators and pumps to help with power outages and flooding once the storm hits. Following the most recent weather briefing from the National Hurricane Center, we can expect to have a lot of flooding, especially in Northeast Florida, and we will need additional pumping equipment from the federal government."
According to the White House press release, what the president's order does is authorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate relief "to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe" in the following counties: Baker, Brevard, Broward, Citrus, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Glades, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Indian River, Lake, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Polk, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie and Volusia.
The White House said the emergency measures will be provided at 75 percent federal funding.
Scott has activated an additional 1,000 National Guard members. Some 3,500 members have now been activated. This is more than half of the available troops that may be activated.
Scott has continued to activate National Guardsmen to help with life-saving operations, including evacuations and preparing for search and rescue missions.
“Protecting lives remains our No. 1 priority," Scott said. "And that is why I have ... directed (the Guardsmen) to focus on prepositioning resources, assisting with helping people evacuate safely and our sheltering operations. In the immediate aftermath of the storm, they will be involved in recovery efforts including search and rescue missions. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also has high-water vehicles prepositioned across the state to help with these efforts."
The Governor's Office provided these contact sources:
- The Florida Emergency Information Line (FEIL) has activated and can be reached at 1 (800) 342-3557.
- State Emergency Operations Center Media Line: 850-921-0217.
- Follow @FLSert or @FLGovScott on Twitter for live updates on Hurricane Matthew.
- Visit http://www.floridadisaster.org/info to find information on shelters, road closures, and evacuation routes.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
