Governor Rick Scott visited Palm Beach County Monday for a brief meeting with local emergency management staff. He is urging residents to create a plan and be ready for any Hurricane impact.
Now that Hurricane Matthew's track has shifted more west, it's got locals preparing for the worst.
"When you think about the consequences, it just makes sense to go ahead and prepare as much as you can without panicking," said Steven Grey of Palm Beach Gardens.
Governor Scott told residents they should have at least three days worth of food, water, and medications.
"We can begin to see impacts on Florida Wednesday and through Saturday, again this is a slow moving storm," said Governor Scott.
Josh Couch and his family just arrived in Palm Beach Gardens from Ohio. Their vacation is starting off with some hurricane preparedness shopping.
"This is our first time here, it's definitely not the news that we wanted, but we're just dealing with it," said Couch as he loaded water and other grocery items into his car Monday night.
Emergency management centers in Palm Beach, Martin, Okeechobee, St. Lucie and Indian River Counties are all monitoring the storm's track and are communicating with local partners such as utility companies, school districts and emergency responders.
"We're constantly monitoring the storm, constantly comparing it to our timelines and our plans," said Bill Johnson, Director of the Palm Beach County Emergency Management Department.
There are no plans for evacuations at this time but EOC departments want residents to know if they are in an evacuation zone and which one by going to www.FloridaDisaster.org.
Families and businesses should have a storm plan now. You can create a plan at FLGetAPlan.com.
"If this thing changes at any point, we will not have a long time to be prepared," added Governor Scott.
Anyone with special needs should register with the Palm Beach County Special Needs program at ReadyPBC.org.
@FLGovScott "we're not taking any chances" calls Hurricane Matthew a "deadly" storm @WPTV pic.twitter.com/eGSyiciqx0
— Michelle Quesada (@M_Quesada) October 3, 2016
