Daytona Beach (United States) – Despite the sunshine in Florida on Wednesday all the talk was about Matthew, a monster hurricane roaring north from the Bahamas that threatens to pummel the coast with winds of 120 miles (195 kilometers) an hour.
Airline passengers were urged to call before leaving for the airport. As of mid-morning, Florida airports had cancelled almost 1,400 flights, most of them at Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. Fort Lauderdale has closed it airport, while Orlando is slated to close at 8 p.m., airport officials said.
As residents of a subtropical state, Florida knows what to do with a storm hurtling towards it. Authorities acted in haste, opening shelters for people and pets, distributing free sand bags, and suspending toll charges on the highways.
On Wednesday morning, residents of Volusia County in central Florida received the formal warning on their mobile devices, a haunting and urgent message that a hurricane was on the way.
“I cannot emphasize it enough that everyone in our state must prepare now for a direct hit,” said Florida Governor Rick Scott, as evacuation orders were issued — some voluntary, some mandatory — across different parts of the state.
The storm is expected to hit Florida’s east coast on Thursday night as a Category 3 or 4 — a major hurricane in either case.
In Daytona Beach — a tourist town northeast of Orlando — waves of three feet (a meter) high or more lashed the coast. Canned food began to disappear from store shelves but there were no orders to evacuate.
“We’re not really afraid, Florida has been through this thing for years,” said Rick Basel, 63, a retiree who was loading his car with enough food and water from the supermarket to last three or four days.
Despite the sense of calm, Floridians prepared for a battle.
Normally teeming with tourists, Daytona Beach was deserted. It was a bad day for business, said one barista.
In a working class neighbourhood further west, residents gathered free sandbags to guard against flooding.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Matthew was expected to strike eastern Florida as a major Category 3 hurricane or stronger after leaving the Bahamas.
The warning extended from Golden Beach, some 21 miles (34 kilometers) north of Miami, all the way to Flagler and Volusia Counties in central Florida.
To the south, a tropical storm warning was issued for the Miami area and westward across the Everglades to the Gulf Coast of Florida.
Northern Florida and parts of Georgia were under a hurricane watch, meaning severe winds and rain were possible by late Friday.
In the terminology of the NHC, a “warning” means conditions are imminent, while a “watch” means they are possible in the next 48 hours.
Matthew was taking aim at the Bahamas Wednesday evening as a slightly weaker — but still powerful — Category 3.
