US President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency Thursday in Florida, in anticipation of the damage likely to be created by the rapidly approaching Hurricane Matthew.
The move effectively authorized release of funds and coordination of disaster relief efforts via the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
There is a large Jewish community in Florida, as well as in Georgia and South Carolina as well.
The storm has already cost the lives of 113 people, including 108 in Haiti alone.
Below is a photo of the storm as seen from the International Space Station three days ago, on Oct. 3, 2016.
Both agencies will be needed to deal with effects of the storm during and after Hurricane Matthew makes landfall.
Matthew was still designated a Category Four hurricane on Thursday afternoon — the second-most severe storm on the scale — and was packing winds of approximately 140 miles per hour (220 kilometers per hour).
More than two million people were urged by authorities to leave their homes in coastal Florida, Georgia and South Carolina as Matthew approaches. It’s the largest mandatory evacuation seen in the United States, spanning three states so far, since 2012, when Hurricane Sandy devastated the Eastern Seaboard.