Georgia governor orders mandatory evacuations
By: News Staff
The Associated Press
news@abc6.com
Gov. Nathan Deal has ordered mandatory evacuations along the entire Georgia coast as Hurricane Matthew approaches.
Deal said Thursday that everyone east of Interstate 95 should flee Georgia’s six coastal counties: Chatham, Bryan, Liberty, McIntosh, Glynn and Camden. Those counties have a combined population of more than 522,000 people.
The governor had asked coastal residents to evacuate on a voluntary basis Wednesday. He called for mandatory evacuations as the National Hurricane Center placed all 100 miles of coastal Georgia under a hurricane warning Thursday.
Officials say powerful winds and heavy rains from Matthew could begin to arrive in coastal Georgia late Thursday. The storm is forecast to pass Saturday.
The Georgia coast hasn’t seen a hurricane evacuation since a near-miss with Hurricane Floyd in 1999.
©WLNE-TV / ABC6 2016
