Minute-by-minute: Georgia interstate closed, mandatory evacuations ordered

As Hurricane Matthew barrels towards the U.S. coast with wind gusts topping 140 miles per hour, the governors of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina have all issued mandatory evacuations.

“There are no excuses. You need to leave. Evacuate, evacuate, evacuate,” Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Thursday morning. “Unfortunately, this is going to kill people. Time is running out.”

LATEST:

• Gov. Nathan Deal issued a mandatory evacuation for 6 coastal counties
• Interstate 16 eastbound closed in Georgia ahead of approaching storm
• Hurricane Matthew upgraded to Category 4
• Hurricane is expected to hit Florida today
• Georgia coastal counties could see impacts as soon as Friday, but metro Atlanta in the clear for now

Channel 2 Action News has crews spread out across the southeast as the hurricane moves in. Stay with WSBTV.com and watch Channel 2 Action News throughout the day for team coverage from Severe Weather Team 2.

Matthew is projected to run along most of Florida's coastline as a major hurricane. It is expected to remain off Georgia's shoreline but will be close enough to cause tropical storm force winds along the coastline.

11:20 p.m. President Obama has declared a state of emergency for Georgia.

10:09 p.m. Hurricane Matthew about 65 off the coast of Florida near West Palm Beach

9:15 p.m. UGA announces the football game against South Carolina scheduled for Saturday has been re-scheduled for Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

7:36 p.m. Channel 2's Richard Elliot says Savannah's River Street is empty after evacuation ordered.

-----

6:38 p.m. Due to anticipated inclement hurricane-related weather conditions, Georgia DOT is suspending construction-related lane closures on I-75 in both directions from the Florida/Georgia line to Barrett Parkway in Metro Atlanta. Restrictions are effective immediately and continue through Saturday, October 8 at 5 a.m.

-----

6:00 p.m. Hurricane Matthew lashing Freeport. Winds picking up along Florida coast.

-----

5:55 p.m. Storm expected to have major impact on barrier islands in Georgia.

-----

5:40 p.m. Shelters open for evacuees across Georgia.

-----

5:19 p.m. GEMA official says, "Our number one role over the next 48 hours is to protect life and property, in that order."

-----

5:15 p.m. Officials say buses will continue to run from the counties under mandatory evacuation until 12 p.m. Friday.

-----

5:13 p.m. Gov. Deal holds news conference in Savannah. "This is a serious matter."

-----

5:00 p.m. Updated track brings Hurricane Matthew a little closer to the Georgia coast.

-----

4:56 p.m. Eye of Hurricane Matthew about to hit Freeport in the Bahamas.

-----

4:35 p.m. Meteorologist Brian Monahan is near Cape Canaveral, where Matthew is expected to make landfall within the next few hours.

-----

4:30 p.m. Traffic building up along Georgia interstates as people evacuate the coast.

-----

4:10 p.m. Saturday's LSU-Florida game has been canceled. We are still awaiting a decision on the Georgia-South Carolina game.

-----

3:40 p.m. Winds are picking up as Hurricane Matthew approaches the Florida coast.

-----

3:30 p.m. Contra flow on I-16 now live all the way through Dublin, where Channel 2's Carl Willis is located.

-----

2:50 p.m. Glynn County issues curfew beginning Thursday at midnight and lasting until 5 a.m. Friday morning. Curfew remains in place Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

-----

2:24 p.m. "Let's all pray that Georgia and our neighbors up and down the coast are spared from the disastrous effects that could come from a hurricane of this magnitude," Deal said as he closes out his news conference.

-----

2:17 p.m. "This can be a dangerous storm. It can inflict the loss of life if people are not cautious," Deal said. "We stand ready to help but people have to help themselves first."

-----

2:10 p.m. Georgia officials say they are prepared for Hurricane Matthew. "We are being cautious but we don't want anyone to panic We believe that we are as prepared as we can be for this crisis," Gov. Deal said.

-----

2:00 p.m. Gov. Nathan Deal holds news conference about Hurricane Matthew.

-----

1:55 p.m. President declares emergency in Florida ahead of Matthew. He ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts. The action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate all disaster relief efforts.

-----

1:50 p.m. As Hurricane Matthew nears Florida's coast, Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld all shut down in Orlando.

-----

1:30 p.m. Airlines canceling hundreds of flights as Matthew moves toward the Florida coast.The Fort Lauderdale airport shut down Thursday morning and Orlando is expected to do the same by nighttime. Flight-tracking service FlightAware.com reported nearly 1,500 flights within the U.S. had been canceled by midday. Airlines have already canceled nearly 1,300 flights for Friday, according to FlightAware.

-----

1:10 p.m. GDOT says all eastbound lanes of I-16 are now flowing westbound between Savannah and Dublin as people evacuate the coast.

-----

12:57 p.m. Death toll in Haiti rises to 108, according to the Associated Press.

-----

12:20 p.m. Matthew evacuees beginning to cause traffic delays in metro Atlanta.

-----

11:55 a.m. Georgia coastal counties activate school buses, other means of transportation to evacuate people from the area.

-----

11:52 a.m. Traffic on I-16 Eastbound is officially shut off. All lanes will soon become westbound.

-----

11:46 a.m. Center of Hurricane Matthew is about 165 miles off the Florida coast. Outer bands hitting southern Florida.

-----

11:45 a.m. Haiti's Civil Protection Agency says the death toll from Hurricane Matthew is now at 23. In addition, three people are missing and 27 are injured. The updated toll brings the total number of deaths to at least 29 in the Caribbean, including four in the Dominican Republic, one in Colombia, and one in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

-----

11:25 a.m. Meteorologist Brian Monahan says Hurricane Matthew will be a "unprecedented threat" to Florida. He is live in Cocoa Beach.

11:15 a.m. Meteorologist Brad Nitz says Matthew is expected to veer away from the Georgia coast.

11:00 a.m. Hurricane Matthew upgraded to a dangerous Category 4 with sustained winds of up to 140 mph and gusts up to 165 mph.

-----

10:55 a.m. Videos on Twitter show Hurricane Matthew pounding the Bahamas, knocking down trees.

-----

10:37 a.m. The center of the hurricane is moving over Nassau and the rest of the Bahamas.

-----

10:15 a.m. Hurricane Matthew continues slamming the Bahamas as winds pick up in Florida, where Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Brian Monahan is monitoring conditions. He says people are following orders and evacuating

-----

10:00 a.m. Gov. Nathan Deal issues a mandatory evacuation east of Interstate 95 for six coastal counties.

-----

9:40 a.m. The Georgia Department of Public Safety is closing I-16 Eastbound. Around 9:30 a.m. they began closing eastbound ramps. I-16 will be converted to westbound only as soon as all the lanes of I-16 Eastbound have been cleared.

-----

9:20 a.m. Florida Gov. Rick Scott held a news conference on the incoming hurricane. Scott told residents that time is running out. "There are no excuses. You need to leave. Evacuate, evacuate, evacuate," Scott said. "Unfortunately, this is going to kill people.

-----

8:20 a.m. Hurricane Matthew pounds Nassau, Bahamas as a category 3.

Cox Media Group