Hurricane Matthew Hits Georgia: Rising Waters Expected, More Than 100K Without Power

SAVANNAH, GA — Georgia Governor Nathan Deal announced late Friday he has deployed an additional, 1,000 National Guard members, doubling the number responding to Hurricane Matthew. At 10 p.m., nearly 120,000 residents were without power in coastal Georgia communities. The storm left more than 1.1 million without power in Florida and killed five people.

A wind gust of 50 mph was reported in Savannah. Gusts up to 60 mph were reported in the Jacksonville area. Waters were rising and expected to continue to climb with the approach of high tide, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Forecasters predict a life-threatening storm surge and flash flooding with the potential to do significant damage to barrier islands and coastal communities, according to the National Weather Service. Power outages, downed trees and flooded streets already left in Matthew's wake in Florida were expected to continue as the storm pushed north into Georgia.

At 10 p.m., Hurricane Matthew was 90 miles south-southeast of Savannah, Georgia. The maximum sustained winds were 110 mph, with higher gusts. The entire Georgia coastline is under a hurricane warning, with the storm expected to take most of the night to move up the coastline and on to South Carolina's shores in the early morning Saturday.

• More: Hurricane Matthew's Devastation: 5 Dead, 1.1 Million Without Power

According to the hurricane center, wind speeds on St. Simons Island should reach a maximum of 85 mph gusts. But winds could be worse, depending on the storm's final approach. A storm surge of between 6-9 feet surge was expected to begin in advance of the storm as far north as Edisto Beach in South Carolina, as well as flooding rains of 8-12 inches, with up to 15 inches in some isolated areas.

"Flood waters can enter many structures within multiple communities, some structures becoming uninhabitable or washed away," forecasters warn, noting flood waters may cover escape routes. "Streets and parking lots become rivers of moving water with underpasses submerged. Driving conditions become dangerous."

President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Georgia Friday morning in advance of Hurricane Matthew's arrival, as hundreds of thousands of Georgians fled the coast toward metro Atlanta and other inland destinations.

Early-morning developments offered a glimmer of hope for Georgia. At 11 a.m., the storm had weakened slightly from overnight. The National Hurricane Center downgraded Matthew from a Category 4 storm to a Category 3, albeit with still-dangerous sustained winds of 120 mph.

And the storm's projected path had ticked slightly eastward, suggesting it could continue skirting the Atlantic coast without making landfall.

"On the forecast track, the center of Matthew will continue to move near or over the coast of northeast Florida and Georgia through tonight, and near or over the coast of South Carolina on Saturday," the hurricane center said in its 11 a.m. update.

Late Thursday, Obama declared a state of emergency in Georgia and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local efforts.

The president spoke by phone with Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal on Thursday, according to the White House, committing to provide federal assistance to help the state in Matthew's aftermath.

On Thursday, Deal had ordered a mandatory evacuation of portions of six coastal Georgia counties: Bryan, Chatham, Liberty, McIntosh, Glynn and Camden.

Local officials expanded those orders in other places, and many residents of took it upon themselves to leave, even if they were in voluntary evacuation zones.

Eastbound traffic on Interstate 16, the main artery from Savannah to Macon and the rest of middle Georgia, was shut down and all lanes of the highway were routed west, in an effort to ease the exit for evacuees who still, in many cases, encountered bumper-to-bumper traffic as they fled.

Hotel rooms throughout the state filled up, and emergency shelters opened to house those with no place else to go.

Georgia's map of shelters is available here.

At 11 a.m., the storm's eye was sitting just off the northeast Florida coast, about 35 miles northeast of Daytona Beach an 95 miles southeast of Jacksonville.

It was moving north-northwest at a speed of 12 mph.

Matthew was expected to produce total rain accumulations of 8 to 12 inches over the Atlantic coast, with the possibility of isolated areas receiving 15 inches, the National Hurricane Center said.

The rainfall could result in flooding and flash flooding, the center warned.

Image via National Hurricane Center