By Katy Galimberti, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer
October 6,2016; 12:30AM,EDT
More than 1,000 flights are cancelled through Friday ahead of Hurricane Matthew.
According to flightaware.com, flights departing from Florida's busiest airports, including Miami, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, and Palm Beach, have cancelled as many as 261 flights for one day.Orlando's Sanford International Airport tweeted Wednesday that all commercial flights are cancelled as of 10 am Thursday morning through Friday.
As major Hurricane Matthew churns toward the United States, residents along the southeastern coast are rushing to prepare.
Hurricane warnings have been issued along the east coast of Florida.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal expended the state of emergency to include 17 additional counties in Georgia. Thirty counties in Georgia are now under the emergency declaration, which also warns against price gauging.
"I urge Georgians in the affected areas to remain calm, be prepared and make informed, responsible decisions as we continue to monitor Hurricane Matthew's path," Deal said.
President Obama received a briefing on preparations being taken ahead of Hurricane Matthew during a visit to FEMA headquarters Wednesday.
(Photo/Department of Homeland Security)FEMA said it has deployed officials to emergency operations centers (EOCs) in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. The agency is also pre-positioning commodities and other resources to incident support bases in Albany, Georgia, and Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
"This helps expedite providing assistance in the immediate aftermath of a storm," FEMA said.
Evacuations continue across Florida in preparation for Matthew, which remains is a powerful Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 120 mph.
"This is a dangerous storm and it is never too early to evacuate," said Florida Gov. Rick Scott.
The volume of people taking to the road has caused some gas stations across the state to run out of gas.
This
gas station in Jacksonville, Florida was one of many across the state
that has run out of gas. (Photo/Twitter user @JoshGellers)On Wednesday afternoon, Scott announced that there would be no tolls on roads in the counties with evacuations.
"Protecting life and moving people to safety remains our top priority and today I directed the Florida Department of Transportation to suspend tolls as needed to keep traffic flowing," said Scott.
The pending threat of Hurricane Matthew also forced the PGA TOUR to cancel the Web.com Tour Championship, scheduled to take place near Jacksonville, Florida from Thursday through Sunday.
Mandatory evacuations will begin at 3 p.m. EDT Wednesday for Brevard County's barrier island in Florida. Merrit Island and other low-lying areas will also be evacuated.
County spokesperson Don Walker said shelters will open at 4 p.m.
Voluntary evacuations have begun in several other counties in Florida, including Lucie, Flagler and Duval Counties.
Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester, Jasper, Colleton and Beaufort counties in South Carolina will begin evacuating on Wednesday.
Horry and Georgetown counties will evacuate starting on Thursday.
South Carolina state officials will reverse lanes on major evacuation routes. This will be the first major evacuation since Hurricane Floyd in 1999.
Airbnb, a popular online housing app, launched a tool to help those evacuating in South Carolina. The urgent accommodations tool allows users to offer their midland homes, or find a home to stay.
Vacationers on Ocracoke Island in North Carolina started an emergency evacuation early Wednesday morning. Residents will be forced to evacuate on Thursday, Hyde County officials said.
Residents from Florida to the Carolinas are rushing to stores to stock up on supplies. Gas stations were also popular spots with long lines forming in Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday morning. The state's attorney general cautioned against price gauging.
Schools along the eastern coast of Florida are closed through the rest of the week in anticipation of the hurricane.
Beth
Johnson fills up her car after waiting in line at a Sunoco gas station
in advance of Hurricane Matthew in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., Tuesday, Oct. 4,
2016. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)
Shelves at a Walmart in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., were empty on Tuesday night. (Twitter photo/@Sshine72)Florida Gov. Rick Scott urged coastal residents to prepare for the possibility of a direct hit and to stock up on food, water and medicine. He said his top priority is to ensure that Florida does not add to Matthew's death toll.
"It is never too early to evacuate," Gov. Scott said.
On Tuesday, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said that over 1 million people would need to be evacuated from the state's coastal communities. Evacuations began on Wednesday. She said the goal is for residents to move at least 100 miles away from the coast.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for 13 counties. North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory issued a state of emergency for 66 counties.
"I cannot stress enough how critical it is that all of our residents in central and eastern North Carolina begin preparations for their families and homes," McCrory said. "For those residents in the eastern parts of the state, it is especially critical that you update your emergency supply kits in case you need to evacuate and always follow the directions of your local emergency officials."
Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for every county.
President Obama canceled a campaign stop in Florida this week and instead will visit the Federal Emergency Management Agency's headquarters.
For anyone in need of emergency disaster relief in the United States, Red Cross shelter locations can be found here.
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