Obama Declares State of Emergency in FL Due to Hurricane Matthew

Local Editor

US President Barack Obama declared an emergency in the state of Florida on Thursday and had ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts to Hurricane Matthew.

Obama's action authorizes the so-called Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate efforts to alleviate the suffering caused by the hurricane. The directive applies to more than two dozen counties in Florida.

Joacksonville, Florida Mayor Lenny Curry also warned local residents of preparing in advance for the storm and urged them to evacuate the areas that will most likely be targeted.

Emergency declarations are designed to help provide emergency services to protect lives and property, and to lessen the threat of a catastrophe.

The death toll in Haiti from Hurricane Matthew had risen to at least 339.

Haitian Interior Minister Francois Anick Joseph announced the figure in the capital on Thursday as authorities and aid workers work to gauge the extent of the deaths and damage in the impoverished country.

Authorities had been struggling to reach people in the most remote areas including around the town of Jeremie and throughout the Grande Anse area.

In addition to Haiti being hit, there were also at least four people killed in the neighboring Dominican Republic, one in Colombia and one in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Storm experts are saying that the major threat to the Southeast US won't be Hurricane Matthew's pummeling winds, which newer buildings have been constructed to withstand. Rather, it will be water surge, with the deadly storm churned up by such a massive and powerful hurricane.

As such, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center are warning that large waves pushed by Hurricane Matthew could threaten lives and property hours before the Category 4 storm's eye nears the shore.

In simple terms, a storm surge is the abnormal rise of sea water. However, it is extremely complicated to predict, to the point where forecasters removed flooding references in a 2010 revision of the five-category system for describing the damage possible at various hurricane wind speeds.

Earlier this year, Hurricane Hermine was the first time forecasters experimented with storm surge watches and warnings for the public. The advisories, which are separate from watches and warnings about a storm's wind speeds, may become fully operational next year.

Airlines are canceling hundreds of flights as Hurricane Matthew pelts the Florida coast with high winds and heavy rain. The Fort Lauderdale airport shut down on Thursday morning, and farther north the Orlando airport expected to do the same by nighttime.

With dangerous Hurricane Matthew approaching Florida's coastline, officials at Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld say they'll be shutting down until the storm passes.

Earlier Thursday, SeaWorld announced on its website that the park would close at 2 pm and remain closed on Friday.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team