President Obama warned the public that Hurricane Matthew is a major storm and advised people to be on alert after meeting with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials at their headquarters in Washington on Wednesday.
“I want to emphasize to the public: This is a serious storm,” Obama said. “It has already hit Haiti with devastating effect.” It is “building strength on its way to Florida,” where emergency and weather officials expect it “to have significant effect” beginning Thursday morning, he said.
“So I want to make sure that everybody is paying attention to your local officials,” he said. “If there is an evacuation order in your community, you need to take it seriously. We anticipate that not only is there still a chance that the core of the storm strikes Florida and some of the states further north, but even if you don’t get the full force of the hurricane, we are still going to be seeing tropical force winds, the potential for a storm surge, and all of that could have a devastating effect.”
Obama also asked the public to help Haiti and other poor countries in the hurricane’s path.
“I want us to keep in mind that Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, already suffering from a range of previous disasters, has been hit really hard by this storm and we anticipate that they are going to need substantial help,” Obama said.
“There may be similar needs in places like the Bahamas. So I would ask that people who are willing to contribute and willing to help to visit the Center for International Disaster Information,” which is online at CIDI.org, he said.
