Hurricane Matthew marches closer to U.S.; forces mass evacuations

October 6, 2016 —

MELBOURNE, Fla. — Evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people was underway Wednesday in Florida and South Carolina as Hurricane Matthew roared closer to the U.S. after leaving 16 people dead and carving a path of destruction across Haiti.

At a Lowe’s store in Myrtle Beach, S.C., the home improvement store had run out of bags of play sand to stack against rising waters and hurricane clips, used to ease installation of plywood against windows. Generators were sold out for a few hours, but a new supply arrived Wednesday evening, as customers were dwindling.

Outside, Jan Fogleman of Fresenius Medical Care, returned to his truck already stocked with plywood, used in years past to cover one of the company’s storefronts, which offers kidney dialysis services.

“We’re probably over preparing, to be honest,” Fogleman said.

The company advised patients who can evacuate to leave. To ensure uninterrupted care for patients, it provided dialysis in its clinics before the evacuations and arranged for evacuated patients to receive treatment in clinics safe from the storm.

Read the full story at USA Today