Is it time to leave Florida?

[robert99]

Run for the ... wait a minute , there are no hills in Florida. Err ...run to the airport!
Hurricane Matthew: Florida warned of 'direct hit' - BBC News
Florida residents have been warned to prepare for a "direct hit", as Hurricane Matthew pounded the Bahamas after devastating parts of Haiti.

Damage could be "catastrophic", the state governor said. Evacuation orders have been issued along the coast.

 

[robert99]

Pets cope with Hurricane Matthew at a storm shelter just for them
That sentiment — that pets are family — and the uncertainty of Matthew's path drove dozens of people to Broward County's pet-friendly shelter at Millennium Middle School in Tamarac.

By Thursday afternoon, the shelter has 55 clients, 18 cats, 27 dogs and two birds — including a plump cat from Dania Beach named Rudy, adopted from the streets a year ago, and a trio of excited Yorkies from Margate named Benji, Big G and Love.

Read more here: Pets cope with Hurricane Matthew at a storm shelter just for them

 

[robert99]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/07/us/hurricane-matthew.html
Residents were streaming away from coastal regions, jamming highways, after Gov. Rick Scott of Florida told 1.5 million people living in evacuation zones: “You need to leave. Evacuate, evacuate, evacuate.”

NASA closed the space center on Wednesday, and “essential personnel” prepared for the storm by checking the space center for loose debris.

There’s a very valuable satellite that’s waiting for launch in a month: the GOES-R, a next-generation weather satellite for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that was designed to improve, among other things, our tracking and intensity measurement of hurricanes. A NOAA posting on Reddit by the system program director for GOES-R satellites, said that it was being held in a building in Titusville that can withstand a Category 4 hurricane.

 

[KLS52]

My friend in Palm Bay decided to ride it out. Initially they went across the street to stay with a neighbor because the neighbor's house is more sea worthy. But for some reason they ended up going back home. Maybe it was downgraded a bit. I guess I'll find out more in a few hours.

 

[robert99]

Florida residents return home to assess the damage
Fla. Gov. Scott: ‘We are blessed’ after Matthew misses coast.

 

[Chryssie]

Getting back to normal today! Sun is shining! Lots of people still without power and schools will be closed Monday and Tuesday. I saw many tree branches and trees down on my way home from work this morning. I think the power company said they hope to have everyone's power restored by Sunday night.

 

[Nebulous]

Stay safe florida peeps!