Nearly two-million people along the coast of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas are being urged to evacuate their homes as a powerful Hurricane Matthew gets closer to the southeastern U-S mainland.
The Category 3 storm pounded the Bahamas overnight and now has sustained winds of 200-kilometres-per-hour, but forecasters expect Matthew to strengthen again to a Category 4 hurricane this morning.
Despite evacuation orders, some residents are opting to stay put.
Florida Governor Rick Scott is urging holdouts to reconsider, saying this ``dangerous storm'' has already killed at least 16 people in the Caribbean.