making news in america this morning, breaking right now, hurricane matthew marching up florida's coast. >> it's here. it's absolutely here and it is a monster. overnight, pounding rain, 120-mile-per-hour and the power outages spreading. >> this morning our team in the storm zone. >> the storm surge is where i am on the coast of florida, expected to be six to ten feet or more. >> we're still getting that powerful wind and rain. >> a steady stream of people fleeing the coast and grocery store supplies running low. >> i saw two guys fighting at a gas station yesterday. actually throwing punches.

every move. the assault under way and preparations for what's still to come. >> good friday morning, everyone. i'm kendis gibson. and i'm mara schiavocampo in for diane macedo. we begin with breaking news. hurricane matthew continues to pound the coast and the effects of the storm being felt throughout the state. >> some scenes for you. here'sha behind the wheel of a police cruiser. this is near port st. lucie in the heart of the hurricane zone. officers trying to keep the area safe, but they're barely able to see what's outside their window there. the powerful storm forced millions to evacuate along the southeast coast. florida, georgia, south carolina are all under states of emergency. and we have team coverage with abc's ginger zee standing by in melbourne, florida, but first we head to new smyrna beach and abc's lauren lyster.

>> reporter: good morning, mara and kendis. the impact of hurricane matthew intensifying where i am. that category 3 hurricane packing 120-mile-per-hour winds bringing major gusts to coastal cities like this one, in some places clocking in at more than 70 miles per hour. hurricane matthew barreling towards florida. the brutal conditions intensifying as the eye of the storm taunts coastal cities. overnight violent winds along the beaches. gusts in some places clocking in above 70 miles per hour. the storm bringing the look and sound of fireworks in the form of downed power lines. thousands facing outages. officials fearing up to 3 million may end up in the dark. the national weather service saying matthew will be devastating. florida's governor making this dire warning. >> unfortunately, this is going to kill people.

matthew taking the lives of more than 100 people as it swept through haiti. the death toll there skyrocketing as the floodwaters recede, and matthew battering the bahamas before heading for florida. residents thursday preparing filling up those final sandbags. stores were boarded up. their shelves bare. more than 3 million people urged to evacuate here and in the carolinas. some refusing to go. >> everyone left town. everything is boarded up, and i'm just waiting. >> reporter: but many getting out clogging the highways for miles while nearly 4,000 flights have been canceled. and a major concern here now the storm surge. where i am along the coast, it's expected to be six to ten feet or more. residents here fearing this waterway behind me could continue to rise flooding their homes. you can see the dock is completely submerged. kendis and mara. >> yeah, and that's noted especially with high tide just a few hours away from now, and, lauren, you there in volusia

>> reporter: i can tell you that the winds have really picked up. they have become very gusty. when i was walking out by the water, it became a lot more uncertain than it was earlier where it felt very safe. now it definitely feels like the wind has picked up a lot of power and the rain is pelting you with that sideways rain which is a change from earlier and, of course, the power is out where we are. >> all right. >> wow, lauren lyster in new smyrna beach. lauren, thanks so much for that. okay, so 7le meteorologist ginger zee is hunkered down and she spent the night in melbourne, florida. ginger, what are conditions like there? >> reporter: conditions here are sounding a lot more like a tropical storm/hurricane. we've had hurricane-force winds just north of us to 74 and now 79 miles per hour. right here in melbourne, the airport reporting 63-mile-per-hour gusts. that outer wall, because there really are kind of outer wall

is about 20 miles from us, the inner about 30 and that's going to make all the difference as we've been saying this whole storm, running parallel to the shore is one thing, once that outer wall gets closer to some of these communities and beaches like cape canaveral as it nears there, that's where you're going to see that type of devastating potential damage. obviously the wind, the surge, all of that still happening, the waves will be climbing in intensity. right now i can hear the rain, i can hear all of it, but i don't know how, it's a miracle we still have power at h do not, i think it's in the hundreds of thousands that do not have power yet, so this is not over, and we've got a couple of more hours of it here, but as it moves up along the coast, what i am most concerned about is not only it getting closer to land but as it gets closer to jacksonville and savannah, that's not going to help anybody by that piling of water, so i think storm surge will become even more of an issue along with the wind and the rain. >> ginger, in terms of the

of coastal areas and areas where people live and communities that will be affected? >> reporter: so, everyone by the end of the weekend will be just watching matthew as it kind of meanders back towards florida. it will be a lot weaker by then but i would say after sunday, folks in south and north carolina will be finally over with the storm, but, again, it's tonight, i'd say all through the day today in florida then tonight through tomorrow, it's coastal georgia intoth sunday south carolina into north carolina. >> and, ginger, we've heard so much about how devastating this storm is going to be. you know, you're so good at what you do. you always are so measured. you don't get caught up in the hype. you really focus on the science. does this storm look right now based on projections as devastating as it has been predicted to be? >> again, it's all about how close it can get. at this point i feel so

closer to the west palm beach area or to very highly populated areas south of there. that was on point and prediction. it is right along the national hurricane center's track exactly like they had it as of last night. so it's riding up along the coast. we will see damage but, again, when you're talking, because i'm measured and i'm often really concerned about the accuracy, i definitely still have like genuine heart and stomach concerns for folks along the coast of florida and in coastal georgia. so, this is far from over. the next 24 hours are crucial and, again, a mere ten miles is going to make the difference of life and death. >> wow. it's been a very long night for ginger there in melbourne, florida, and a long night for people all up and down the coast there in florida and georgia, and as ginger is pointing out, it's not over yet. ginger, thank you. she's going to have the latest there from florida on "good morning america." and matthew, of course, is impacting as well air travel across the country with nearly 4,000 flights canceled through tomorrow.

the first time since hurricane katrina. it will re-open at 11:00 a.m. this morning. miami and palm beach international remain open but temporarily halted commercial flights. in orlando, walt disney world is shut down and will stay closed throughout the day. that includes theme parks, golf courses and the espn complex. this is only the fourth ever shutdown of the 24/7 mainstay. each time it's been closed, it's been because of a hurricane. is, of course, the parent company of abc news. well, still ahead, much more to cover on matthew. we are just getting started. we have hurricane experts standing by with what's expected next. dramatic video from the bahamas. hurricane matthew ripping a roof right off a home. plus, a family's clever way to keep their car safe in the

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we're looking at satellite images, of course, keeping an eye on hurricane matthew as the storm roars off the southeast coast. it is the most powerful u.s. hurricane in more than a decade and it could wreak havoc on florida and the carolinas for the next few days. millions have already moved inland to escape the path heeding those calls for evacuations. ce companies have extra crews in place to deal with numerous power line explosions going off throughout the state. widespread outages are expected as matthew barrels through. already more than 140,000 customers are without power. >> and we need to remember that matthew left a mess behind in the bahamas. take a look at this video that shows the roof of a home being torn off by the 100 plus-mile-an-hour winds. last night officials there in the bahamas issuing an all-clear for the islands in the

right now is what could matthew have in store for today as well as the rest of the weekend. >> well, earlier we spoke by phone to john cangialosi at the national hurricane center and he gave us some answers. >> it has weakened a little bit, but only a little bit and that's the true message. maximum winds are still very impressive 120 miles an hour and the system now is getting vest close to the coastline of east central florida. more important than its size is its actual track. i mean, many systems -- and that's the tricky part of matthew, many systems just move into a coastline then start to weaken. matthew is not doing that and riding the coastline so it's moving and affecting a lot of real estate along florida's east coast and then points north from there during the next few days and then for the northeast portion of the state, the conditions will be at their worst late this afternoon and through the evening hours, so

south to north, and some of the severe conditions are going to last several hours and when we talk about these, it comes with just a package of hazards. not just about the wind but critical to see if the eye comes ashore, but what we have more confidence in is the heavy rains, widespread areas of 6 to 12 inches right along florida's east coast and then the storm surge which is usually the deadliest hazard. >> he talks about that package package of hazards there, the storm surge, flying power outages creating a dangerous situation. >> and florida officials were noting that throughout while they were warning people to get away, they were saying you can always hide from the wind but you need to run from the storm surge because that is really the thing that ends up killing a lot of people in these sort of situations. well, when we come back, the new video just in showing hurricane hunters flying right into matthew. and the waffle house index. yes, the waffle house index, it's a real thing. why fema looks at the restaurant chain to see how serious the

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you're taking a look there at the latest satellite view of hurricane matthew. we see this massive storm moving just off the florida coast, and officials are saying that over the next 24 hours, we'll be seeing how powerful and potentially devastating this storm, in fact, is. >> from end to end the storm is 300 miles wide, and thousands of homes have been left without power as a result of this. some people did get lucky, if you can say that. the strongest part of the storm missed miami as well as ft. lauderdale. let's give you this vantage point here. this is one of those hurricane hunters from inside the cockpit of the plane that is piloted by noaa's hurricane hunters through the eyewall and into the eye of that storm. the crew safely landed a short time ago saying it was a very turbulent flight. >> i can only imagine. >> absolutely, and they continue

coast. now, price gouging is among the many concerns for millions of people in the storm zone. >> some defenses are in place to protect against it, and here with the details is abc's kenneth moton. kenneth, good morning. >> reporter: mara, kendis, this morning, reports of price gouging are already coming in, of course, we know that florida, georgia, south carolina and even parts of north carolina are under states of emergency. and that means price gouging laws in those states are in effect. trying to evacuate or ride out the storm. food, water, ice, gas, hotel rooms. attorneys general in those southeastern states have promised investigations into any complaints of businesses overcharging people during this emergency. in florida, there are hundreds of reports pouring in like gas stations raising the prices for a gallon of gas by as much as $6. for bottled water, complaints about a pack costing more than

could be hit with a thousand dollar fine or even 30 days in jail for hiking up the prices, and, kendis and mara, those price gouging laws will be in effect for at least the next 15 days. >> important laws to protect people there. kenneth moton, thank you so much for that. it's not just the strong winds and rains from hurricanes that can be the most damaging, one of the things that officials are most concerned about is the storm surge. it's responsible for so many deaths. >> yes, it is, and ginger zee is back with an explanation about what a storm surge is and why it's so dangerous. >> reporter: storm surge is basically water piling up along the shore ahead of and inside the hurricane. in the center of the hurricane as pressure falls, water levels rise, all the water piling up while it's still over the open ocean water. as the hurricane closes in on land, the strong winds push that water toward the coast. it has nowhere left to go but up

sometimes as high as 20 feet. now, say you're inside a home at the coast. this is what it may look like, the water approaching quickly and viciously, entering your home and climbing up the walls. in sandy homes quickly filled with water reaching eight to nine feet inside the house. and when storm surge combines with high tide, the rapid rise in water can be devastating. some may think it's the high winds, but storm surge is actually the greatth life and property from a hurricane. >> so fascinating. it answers a lot of questions i've always had about how dangerous these storms are. here's one sign of how concerned officials are about the catastrophic destruction that lies ahead. >> people refusing to evacuate pawleys island asking to fill out their next of kin

waiver they must sign accepting the risk of staying in the area during the storm. >> it may sound look a joke but this is serious. you know it is bad when waffle houses shut their doors. the 24-hour restaurant chain is known for staying open during the khat of storms. in in fact, it's so rare for a waffle house to close during storms, fema uses its restaurant closures as an unofficial barometer of how bad it is and they expect it to be the waffle house index. >> interesting. here's something else that's interesting. a woman in florida taking drastic measures to keep her car safe as the hurricane heads her way. she actually parked her toyota in her living . glass doors and drove the car in a makeshift ramp. let's hope the car, the home, the homeowner survive matthew unscathed. >> you got to wonder why she didn't just drive it away. >> drive it away, exactly. next, how the hurricane is affecting the presidential race after the break. i have asthma... ...one of many pieces in my life. so when my asthma symptoms kept coming back on my long-term control medicine.

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hurricane matthew has forced the evacuation of the presidential race from the sunshine state. both campaigns have been scrambling to cancel events, close offices and move staff to safety in that critical swing state, and both have pulled certain tv ads and are tweeting out support for those still caught in the storm zone. on thursday night football it was the san francisco 49ers hosting the arizona cardinals. >> and it was l francisco's many mistakes. cardinals' larry fitzgerald caught two touchdown passes then david johnson rushed for two more. one of the touchdown passes there to larry. final score, 33-21. cardinals victorious. in baseball the american league division series began last night. the cleveland indians hit three solo homers, and they held on. the boston red sox losing 5-4. andrew miller earned the win in

in the earlier american league game toronto also had a big third inning scoring five run, a triple by troy tulowitzki. texas hardly looked like the team with the american league's best record as the blue jays easily beat the rangers, 10-1. >> talking about the blue jays they had another victory. the fan who allegedly threw a beer can at a baltimore outfielder during tuesday's wild card game turned himself in charged with mischief. police say they identified him from the video. more news next. ? when is your flu shot more than a flu shot? when it helps give a lifesaving vaccine to a child in need. ? thanks to customers like you, walgreens "get a shot. give a shot." program has helped provide 15 million vaccines through the un foundation. it's that easy to make a difference. ?

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we continue to cover the breaking news, hurricane matthew slamming florida right now with powerful winds and rain. its 120-mile-an-hour winds have so far stayed mostly offshore but there are widespread power outages. numbers sure to climb as the storm batters the atlantic coast of florida and georgia today. millions have left the path of the storm in hopes of finding drier ground. florida, georgia and south carolina are all under states of emergency. 2 million people have evacuated their homes. three-quarters of those in florida alone. elsewhere, weather, a strong storm is moving onshore in the pacific northwest. the chilliest air of the fall season is moving into the upper midwest and another nice day for the northeast. abc's lauren lyster is in the hurricane zone. >> she joins us again from new smyrna beach where conditions

lauren. >> reporter: kendis and mara, the impact of hurricane matthew is intensifying where i am. that category 3 hurricane off the coast of florida packing 120-mile-per-hour winds, and you can feel the gusts that it is bringing in coastal cities already. in some areas clocking in at 70 miles per hour. the concern is the storm surge. i want to show you something, this dock i was walking out on just a few hours ago, now it is completely submerged. the water lapping up at my feet as i stand on the shore. storm surge in this area along the coast expected to be six to ten feet or more. residents here very fearful this waterway could continue to rise flooding their home. 3 million people have been encouraged to evacuate in florida and in the carolinas, which is supposed to get hardest hit by the storm, and we are really starting to see why out

smyrna beach, florida. >> and we're still seeing these conditions start to show up. we're still seeing -- i mean, over the course of the evening we've seen conditions where lauren is get worse and seeing a lot of sideways rain and wind. in fact, there was a dock where she was standing earlier in the opening, and now it's too flooded to be. >> absolutely, and this so far it seems we've dodged mostly a bullet from all of this, but you've seen some of the flooding conditions, lots of power outages, but as you've noted, some other parts of the caribbean have been hit hard. as we in the united states here are preparing for this, a lot of other places are recovering from it. in haiti seeing upwards of 200 dead so, of course, we're thinking of them. that's what's making news in america this morning. >> of course, we're going to stay on this story on "good

>> right now on "wisn 12 news this morning," we are on weather watch as hurricane matthew barrels down on florida. a state of emergency is in effect across most of the southeast. we have live team coverage of the storm as it makes its way up the coast. good morning and welcome to "wisn 12 news this morning." i'm melinda davenport. >> and i'm ben wagner. our top story this morning is hurricane matthew. we're in the weather center with meteorologist sally severson. so sal, such an incredible storm and where is it headed next? >> it is skirting up the eastern sea board overall. we are seeing it hugging the coast of not only florida and georgia and up to the carolinas before it is going to turn.