Florida closes schools, orders evacuations as Matthew nears

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Florida canceled classes along its Atlantic coastline and theme parks kept a watchful eye as Hurricane Matthew picked up speed heading to the East Coast.

Further up the East Coast, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley also announced plans starting this afternoon to evacuate a quarter-million people, not counting tourists, from its vulnerable coastline.

Officials in central Florida's Brevard County are ordering residents on barrier islands and in flood-prone areas to evacuate today in advance of the powerful hurricane. Residents who live in mobile and manufactured homes also are being ordered to leave.

In South Carolina, Haley said two major coastal counties would begin evacuating residents from vulnerable coastal areas within hours. She said some 315 buses were being dispatched to the area. The National Guard and other law enforcement agents are mobilized, ready to ensure an orderly evacuation.

The evacuation of the greater Charleston County and Beaufort areas announced by Haley was set to take effect at 3 p.m., but traffic already was bumper-to-bumper during morning rush hour on Interstate 26 as people fled ahead of the storm.

Gasoline was hard to come by during morning rush hour, with at least a half-dozen stations in Mount Pleasant out of fuel and lines at others. The state's attorney general warned stations against price gouging.

"We ask everybody to please be safe," Haley said at a news conference, warning those thinking of staying put that they could be risking the life of a law enforcement officer if they had to be rescued later.