US coast evacuated as historic hurricane bears downFlorida faced the most dangerous storm in living memory as Hurricane Matthew moved in from the Atlantic on Friday, threatening coastal cities with surging tides, torrential rain and 130 mile-an-hour winds. Only a handful of hurricanes of this strength have ever made landfall in Florida, and none since 1898 has threatened to scythe its way north along low-lying, densely populated coast into Georgia and beyond. South Florida including Miami was thus spared the worst of the storm, after it took a slight turn to the north and east. Storm surgeThe storm will threaten Florida’s beaches and ports with sustained winds of up to 130 miles-per-hour and gusts of up to 160. Ghost resortsIn Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the normally bustling resort turned into a ghost town as tourists loaded up cars, cut short vacations and fled north.

Source: Manila Bulletin October 07, 2016 05:48 UTC