bahamas as matthew roared through crashing and causing extensive damage to resorts and residential damage but nowhere was hit harder than haiti where 108 people are confirmed dead. the hurricane's outer bans are causing rain and wind in florida but the situation will get much worse with landfall expected overnight. president obama has declared a state of emergency in the state of florida. "action news" reporter john rawlins is covering major travel disruptions at philadelphia international airport, and first latest on the storm itself from meteorologist, cecily tynan. what is the situation? >> reporter: the situation is potentially devastating for the east coast of florida, coastal georgia and coastal south carolina. this is matthew on stormtracker 6 live double scan about 100 miles off the coast of west palm beach. we see bands of rain across northern florida and across the

florida peninsula. i want to zoom in and show you the actual eye is right there, but if you look at the bands of thunderstorms about 60 miles away from the eye, that is as far as the hurricane force winds extend. you don't have to get a direct landfall to experience the hurricane force damaging winds. the latest is maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hour. it's a cat 4 hurricane unprecedented. never had a cat 4 between west palm beach and the georgia border. it's making landfall someplace between vero beach and the georgia border as a cat 4 or strong cat 3, getting picked up by a trough and paralleling the coast and going out to sea and perhaps even making a second landfall over florida next week as a much weakened tropical storm. big problem with hurricanes the most deadly the storm surge, we

are looking at a storm surge above the normal tide. 7 to 11 feet aboveground and what we are talking about category 4 hurricane, you can't ride the storms out. they can practically destroy very well built frame homes, trees and power lines uprooted to last weeks if not months. i'll have more coming up on the full accuweather forecast. >> an extraordinary impact. the southeastern pennsylvania chapter of the american red cross is already on a mission to help after matthew is through. denise is traveling to columbia, south carolina to be in position wherever they are needed. they are assigned to feed people in shelters. john rawlins live at philadelphia international airport john what about travel to florida and the rest of the south? >> reporter: well, the large number of cancellations here pertain to airports in florida

that would be orlando and the seven east coast airports in florida. the national figures we is seen 3700 cancellations so far. as for the rest of the southeast. airlines are waiving change fees for flights into that part of the country and american airlines waiving fees at 15 other airports as far north as north carolina. >> the board showed flights to and from florida hard to find. >> two dozen flights are canceled on their way down to florida. >> with wholesale cancellations getting away from the storm is quite a feet. fortunately -- >> there was a lady that worked for southwest airline and her name is mindy, she was very, very kind. she did everything she could to get us here. >> as the ft. lauderdale airport was preparing to hut down a break for the sisters from hackensack.

>> we are trying to get to new jersey we don't know how but we will. >> a similar story from edward hundred trying to get out of ft. lauderdale before matthew arrives. >> i looked at the board and more than half of the flights were red, canceled. >> but he got out to tampa and from tampa to philadelphia. >> i was there to do fishing and the weather is going to make it bad any way and i had to cancel my trip and come back early. >> and amtrak canceled their long distance trains like the silver star to miami. after the storm they there will have to be a thorough inspection. >> we'll inspect our infrastructure after the storm passes and once we are given the all clear we'll look to restart the services. >> well, back to aviation, the orlando anport is set to

cancel flights tomorrow. and miami and ft. lauderdale actually resuming air service tomorrow we'll see what that brings, that situation is fretty fluid. this is where the 6 abc app may come in to being handy here. it has a link to phl and the status board here as well as its twitter feed that could be handy in trying to figure out what to do in the next 24 to 48 if you plan to fly south. >> you can follow the path of hurricane matthew at 6abc.com any time. follow our hurricane tracker showing where the storm is expected to strike next and get the latest from accuweather on the local forecast. philadelphia police are in dogged pursuit of a man who first rapes his victims and then chokes them or slashes their throats. the fifth such attack happened

last saturday in kensington and tonight lawmen think they have a pretty good clue. live now is chad pradelli. >> reporter: yes jim, police suspect the man responsible for five sexual assaults since april. dna tests need to be done but today i spoke with one of the alleged victims. >> police say he is a violence psychopath that chokes and slashes his victims while raping them. police released the surveillance image of the suspect that is believed to have struck again for a fourth and fifth time. he allegedly held a knife to the victim's face last month and choked another victim on the 2700 block of route street this saturday and both survived as did this woman who told investigators she was attacked by the man in july. >> he said meet me here in five minutes and i said okay and i

went to walk away and i grabbed me like this and choked me. >> she says she lost consciousness but came to. >> he again choked me until i when out. i came to again and he did the same thing and the third time i came to he punched me and he ran. >> ricky morgan was not able to tell her story, she was beaten with a brick and killed on cumberland street in july. the suspect often rides a mountain bike, he is nice and soft spoken. >> all the crimes are occurred in kensington and the victim prostitu prostitutes. >> every tall guy i see i think is him. >> and police are warning women that work in that area, the area of kensington to be on alert. in hunting park chad pradelli, channel 6 "action news." >> to say the least. thank you chad.

>> the westbound lanes of the pennsylvania turnpike in montgomery county remain closed with a 17 mile backup, as officials investigate a serious accident, investigators say that a motorcycle collided with an unoccupied police state vehicle. this happened on in king of prussia. officials hope to have the eye way open in an hour. a school bus accident if prices corner, delaware sent five people to the hospital including three children, all the injuries are minor and the accident happened an hour ago on kirkwood highway. police say that the truck rear ended a box truck that slowed for traffic. now an update to a story that was breaking yesterday at 6:00. today pseg crews and investigators were on the scene of an explosion in trenton, they began dismantling two homes to get in side to find the source

of the blast. the man in the home after the blast says he is still shaking after the incident. edward lewis was with his home aide when the explosion happened. >> he said go out the back and i had enough time to pull me through the window. >> he and his aide suffered scrapes but otherwise were not hurt. big surprise here, the race for new jersey governor took a surprising term. state senate president, steve sweeney announced he would not seek the nomination for governor in 2017. sweeney said it was no secret he was seriously considering a bid and has come to a conclusion that a bid was all but impossible. several party chairs across knowledge are poised to publically back phil murphy.

he plans to reseek election for his senate seat. coming up an update on the recovery, of cyrus the clydesdale. and ron jaworsky has high praise for eagles quarterback carson went z. more on that. i'll let you know when showers can come here over the weekend in the exclusive accuweather seven-day forecast. how tall are you?

how do we measure greatness in america? the height of our skyscrapers? the size of our bank accounts? no. it's measured by what we do for our children. the values we pass on. i've spent my life fighting for kids and families and it will be my mission to build a country where our children can rise as high as their dreams and hard work take them. that means good schools for every child in every zip code. college that leads to opportunities... not debt. and an economy where every young american can find a job that lets them start a family of their own. we face big challenges, but we can solve them the same way families do. working together. respecting one another. and never giving up. i want our success to be measured by theirs.

i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message. as pand we saw a guy who has out pat our backs.ecord... toomey crossed party lines to support background checks.... that keep guns out of the hands of criminals and terrorists. true independence, and real guts. that's how pat toomey is helping us, keep you safe. senator pat toomey, the best choice to protect pennsylvania. independence usa pac is responsible for the content of this advertising. we have good news tonight about cyrus the clydesdale.

the 1700 pound horse is on the road to recovery after the harrowing rescue. the bigger horse was spooking cyrus and while running away he got stuck in the mud in chester county. doctors continue to keep a close eye on cyrus but that he didn't have broken bones or major injuries. there will be pampering and medication and then cyrus will head back home. ride the ducks will not be navigating the streets or waterways of philadelphia anymore. the company suspended the philadelphia operations indefinitely. today the kiosk at 6th and walnut was shut down. they site insurance premiums that spiked 330% tourists found out when they came to buy ticket today. >> we came here monday and they were operating yesterday and we thought we'll do those tomorrow and today is our last day here and we are very disappointed.

>> the reputation of the duck boats received a huge blow in the wake of a disaster on the delaware river. the tugboat hit a crippled boat killing two tourists and last year the duck boat hit a pedestrian in center city. and they are securing birth certificates for senior citizens, without a birth certificate clients have a difficult time getting employment, housing and benefits. this group of south philadelphia high school freshman made a commitment to their futures this morning, the teenagers signed a pledge to stay the course over the next four years and make it to graduation. they hope it's the first class with 100% graduation in 2020. robots have taken over the franklin institute. a new exhibit explores how this

will be part of every day life from road assistance to operating rooms. there was cutting edge robots see at the exhibit. it runs through april 2nd.

eagles has some bad memories from a year ago. almost a year ago in detroit lions it was a whooping. >> just a few bad memories it was the beginning of the end for one chip kelly. last thanksgiving that gives the eagles hear burn, they were embarrassed when they watched the lions feast on the eagles defendants but the birds are going back to detroit hungry for revenge. with a new d and new coordinator, they are the only defense that has not allowed a touchdown pass.

shim schwartz was their head coach for five seasons. >> you would be surprised how much i root for the lions as long as it's not in direct conflict with the eagles, i got too much blood and sweat in that building. and there are a lot of guys there that mean a lot to me. i want them to succeed but not succeed this sunday i'll do my best to try to beat them. >> definitely not this sunday. >> not only do the eagles have one of the best defenses in the nfl but they have the best quarterback too in carson wentz and that is coming from former qb and analyst ron jaworsky. >> the sampling is small for wentz. three games, but i believe what i see is great upside. he is only going to get better. there will bumps in the road and games where he is embarrassed and humiliated.

that is the nfl it happens to the great quarterbacks in the league but when you see the foundation of fundamental mechanics and the personality. it only leads me to believe that people that watch this young man believe he will be a super star in this league. >> a super star in the making. >> flyers are shorthanded in their preseason game and goalie steve mason will not be there because of the birth of his child. sixers coach brett brown will have joel embiid tonight but okafor is out with injuries. and finally they see embiid firsthand in his home preseason debut against the wizards, he missed the first two years with that foot injury and perhaps even a double-team again. >> a long awaited well deserved

worth the wait all of those things. and to walk him out on the wells fargo center court and get up and down the court here in philadelphia. it's a small sort of just reward for our fans. >> and embiid as you imagine he said moments ago he is excited it's a long time coming. >> it sure has. cecily tynan with the accuweather forecast. katie v/o: she works hard. she stays late. but she gets paid 21% less than her male coworkers. pat toomey has voted time after time against equal pay for women, against pay that helps hard working families get ahead. katie o/c: for my daughters and yours, i'll fight for equal pay for women. families need it; you've earned it.

katie v/o: i'm katie mcginty, and i approve this message because it's your turn to get ahead. great time for a shiny floor wax, no? not if you just put the finishing touches on your latest masterpiece. timing's important. comcast business knows that. that's why you can schedule an installation at a time that works for you. even late at night, or on the weekend, if that's what you need. because you have enough to worry about. i did not see that coming. don't deal with disruptions. get better internet installed on your schedule. comcast business. built for business. i think my strongest asset, maybe by far, is my temperament. i'd like to punch him in the face, i'll tell you. i would bomb the [bleep] out of 'em. i could stand in the middle of 5th avenue and shoot somebody and i wouldn't lose any voters, okay? and you can tell them to go [bleep] themselves. get him out of here!

get him out of here! get the hell out of here! priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising. a study in contrast our weather here and the huge weather story down south.

>> we have beautiful weather here and florida, georgia and south carolina have a cat 4 hurricane heading their way. hopefully everybody took the evacuation order seriously. this could be life-threatening. stormtracker 6 live double scan showing beautiful conditions, this is sky 6, looking at the atlantic ocean about 1,000 miles north of matthew. a beautiful sunset and calm ocean conditions and it will begin to get rough as we head through the weekend especially on sunday when we have matthew to the south and high pressure building down from the north. it feeled great right now, 73 in philadelphia down from 76. and allentown 72 and wilmington 73 and cape may with the wind off the ocean it's cooler 66. tonight a quiet night, partly cloudy skies and a little bit of fog again and temperatures seasonable. 54 in philadelphia and allentown

45 and wilmington 50 and cape may 58 degrees. satellite 6 along with action radar showing we have high pressure over us carving outs a slice of nice. if you look down at virginia a stalled front bringing clouds and rain and that will stay to the south and be a magnet for some rain for matthew, north carolina heading through the weekend. back at home here tomorrow beautiful temperatures again in the mid-70s. saturday though it clouds up and looks like the morning will be dry but then we have the cold front moving through in the afternoon and that produces showers and perhaps a steadier rain into the afternoon and evening hours. but the first part may be okay. this is hurricane matthew a monster storm. back up to a cat 4, maximum wins 140 miles per hour. it's continuing pulling to the northwest and at 11:00 tonight when we are on the air we'll have hurricane force wind as

approaching the coast between west palm beach and vero beach. you see how it is raking the coach as we head into friday, likely making landfall between cape canaveral and the georgia border and then late on friday still hurricane force winds along the georgia coast and then tropical storm force winds heading into south carolina. it's and winds will intensify in wilmington north carolina, thanks to the stalled front they can get close to a foot of rain. unfortunately interior areas missing out on the rain that is centered along the coast and we could get a storm surge up to 11 feet. back at home quiet weather tomorrow enjoy it. if you like today you'll like tomorrow and plenty of sunshine and high of 75 degrees, saturday the clouds are here by the morning and the showers rolling in mid-afternoon into the

evening showers, and temperatures pretty nice. 72 degrees ahead of that cold front and behind the system on sunday, the sun is back and breezy and cooler and 68 degrees and columbus day wall-to-wall sunshine but a fall chill with a high of 66 degrees. heading into tuesday, we are back in the sunshine mostly sunny skies and temperatures slightly warmer, 68 degrees so a quiet start to yom kippur. and thursday the mild fall weather continues with a high of 71 degrees. we do get an updated track map from the national hurricane center at 11:00. and we'll be able to track the wins. and by 11:00 hurricane force winds on the florida coast. >> thank you. finally tonight a group of second graders have been collecting paper towels for the past month leading up to it day. from kip landing scare primary, the kids marched down broadway

to deliver their donations to the ronald mcdonald house of southern new jersey, they toured it the home and learned how it helps families in need. "action news" continues at 10:00 on phl 17 with brian taff and sharrie williams, and please join us for "action news" at 11:00 here on channel 6. for cecily tynan, jeff skversky, ducis rogers and the entire "action news" team i'm jim gardner, we hope you'll join us for "action news" at 11:00.

tonight, breaking news. bracing for a monster storm. hurricane matthew, now growing in strength to a category 4. ready to strike the east coast. millions of americans warned to leave before it's too late. >> if you need to evacuate and you haven't, evacuate. the storm will kill you. >> what could be the biggest mass evacuation ever across several states tonight. powerful bands lashing florida right now, and what's coming this evening. millions warned they could lose power. already more than 100 dead in matthew's wake, rooftops ripped off. tonight, we're tracking the storm hour by hour. our team of meteorologists and reporters right here in the storm zone. a special edition of "world news tonight" starts now.