Residents in Florida, Georgia and both North and South Carolina are frantically making preparations as Hurricane Matthew looks to be heading toward the East Coast.
"Hurricane Matthew is a deadly Category 4 storm, and we cannot take it lightly," Florida Gov. Rick Scott said.
Soon after emergencies were declared in the Carolinas and Florida, many people started packing their things or stocking up on provisions to prepare for the worst.
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Scott warned residents to get ready for power outages and evacuations.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley initially ordered a complete evacuation of the state's coast. But she revised that plan Wednesday morning to include only Charleston and Beaufort counties.
Matthew made landfall in Haiti on Tuesday, packing 145 mile-per-hour winds and torrential downpours.
Reports from the scene say Matthew caused "total disaster" in both Haiti and Cuba. The storm has been blamed for at least 11 deaths so far.
The National Hurricane Center says Matthew will remain a very powerful storm at least through Thursday night.
