Hurricane Matthew urges over 1 mln to flee South CarolinaOctober 5, 2016 - 16:25 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - South Carolina began massive preparations to evacuate almost a quarter of its people Wednesday, October 5 as Hurricane Matthew crawled toward a weekend rendezvous with the state's Atlantic coast, NBC reports. Gov. Nikki Haley said that unless the storm's course changes drastically overnight, a complete evacuation will begin at 3 p.m. ET Wednesday in the historic city of Charleston and other coastal communities. The region is home to 1.1 million people, almost 25 percent of the state's entire population — not including beach-goers and other tourists. "We don't do voluntary or mandatory. It is an evacuation," Haley said at a news conference. "Our goal is to make sure you get 100 miles away from the coast." State emergency officials made plans to reverse traffic on all four lanes of Interstate 26 from Charleston to Columbia. Authorities posted an interactive map of evacuation routes showing lane reversals on numerous other state and local roads ahead of the total shutdown of coastal South Carolina on Wednesday. Matthew isn't expected to arrive until the weekend, but Haley said she issued the warning now because "it's not going to be a fast evacuation. It could take up to several hours." Photo: AP Related links: Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Ucom Celebrates Telecommunication Day May 17 commemorates the founding of the International Telecommunication Union on May 17, 1865. Armenian, Azerbaijani heads of parliament meet in Switzerland President of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova. Border residents overnight on highway to protest Armenia’s Residents of Kirants continue to express outrage over the government’s decision to cede land to Azerbaijan. Get Started: An educational platform for young startuppers The Get Started program which operates in two phases is an important platform for young startuppers. |