On Thursday, Florida people were effected with Hurricane Matthew which swept the city with heavy rains had potentially catastrophic winds of 130 mph. Around Two million people across the Southeast were effected. It was the most powerful storm ever that threaten the U.S. Atlantic coast in more than a decade. This storm had already left more than 280 dead in its wake across the Caribbean.

More than 80,000 homes and businesses were left without power. Vero Beach Streets were partially covered with water, and Orlando hotel guests  were asked to stay inside, though a few sneaked out to smoke or watch the rain.

President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency for Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. He also asked to spent federal money and send personnel to protect lives and property.

Gov. Rick Scott warned everyone “This storm’s a monster, as it started lashing the state with periodic heavy rains and squalls around nightfall. I’m going to pray for everybody’s safety."

“The storm has already killed people. We should expect the same impact in Florida,” the governor warned.

Forecasters said" it would then probably hug the coast of Georgia and South Carolina over the weekend before veering out to sea, perhaps even looping back toward Florida in the middle of next week as a tropical storm.Millions of people in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina were told to evacuate their homes, and interstate highways were turned into one-way routes to speed the exodus. Florida alone accounted for about 1.5 million of those told to clear out."

“We’re not going to take any chances on this one,” said Daniel Myras, who struggled to find enough plywood to protect his restaurant, the Cruisin Cafe, two blocks from the Daytona Beach boardwalk.

He added: “A lot of people here, they laugh, and say they’ve been through storms before and they’re not worried. But I think this is the one that’s going to give us a wake-up call.”

They said "the major threat to the Southeast would not be the winds, which newer buildings can withstand, but the massive surge of seawater that could wash over coastal communities along a 500-mile stretch from South Florida to the Charleston, South Carolina, area."

The National Hurricane Center said "the Fort Lauderdale airport  got shut down and the Orlando airport also planned to do so as well. The Palm Beach International Airport reported a wind gust of 50 mph with the center of the storm 70 miles offshore . Airlines canceled more than 3,000 flights Thursday and Friday, many of them in or out of Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Amtrak suspended train service between Miami and New York, and cruise lines rerouted ships to avoid the storm, which in some cases will mean more days at sea. Orlando’s world-famous theme parks, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld, all closed."

Authorities in South Carolina said "As people hurried to higher ground, a motorist died on Wednesday after being shot by deputies in a gun battle that erupted when he sped away from a checkpoint along an evacuation route."

“I never get time off. I’m a little sad,” tourist Amber Klinkel, 25, of Battle Creek, Michigan, lamented at Universal.

Patients of two Florida waterfront hospitals and a nursing home were trasfered near Daytona Beach to safer locations.

“We have a house that sits right here on the water and we kind of said goodbye to it thinking that, you know, the house … might not be here when we get back,” said Jennifer Banker, a resident of Georgia’s dangerously exposed St. Simons Island. “You know, we pray a lot and trust God to provide.”

The coordinator for Haiti’s Interior Ministry in the area hit hardest by Hurricane Matthew said "the confirmed death toll in that southwestern zone was 283. Emmanuel Pierre told The Associated Press late Thursday that he expects the toll to rise as authorities reach remote places that were left isolated by the storm. Bodies have started to appear as waters recede in some areas two days after Matthew smashed concrete walls, flattened palm trees and tore roofs off homes."

This led to Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal giving orders to evacuate the entire Georgia coast, covering more than a half-million people.

BY M. DIVYA SRI