Hurricane Matthew is being blamed for the deaths of 10 people in the United States, including 2 people in St Lucie County. A 58-year old woman in Indian River Estates suffered a heart attack, while an 82-year old man was rushed to the hospital early Friday morning where he was pronounced dead. In both cases emergency crews couldn’t get to the people in time due to the high winds. But one elderly couple initially reported dead are actually recovering at the hospital, and they owe their lives to the quick actions of their neighbor.
While the Treasure Coast was largely spared from the worst of Hurricane Matthew, areas like the Bahamas and Haiti were devastated. That has led to several local volunteers setting out to try and help out some of the hardest hit areas. Leah Lynch turned to social media to raise supplies to bring over to the Bahamas.
Lynch and Captain Jake Smith collected about 10,000 pounds of supplies, with everything from water to diapers, even dog food.
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And the group World Harvest Missions is collecting supplies to send to Haiti, where nearly 900 people have died, and thousands more lost their homes.
More than 50 miles of Florida beaches were littered with sea turtle nests that were destroyed by Hurricane Matthew. People walked outside Friday morning to find dozens of sea turtles, and their eggs all over the shoreline. Marc Boodman was walking the beaches with his daughter when they came upon the exposed eggs.
The debris was spotted from Jensen Beach to Boynton Beach. Loggerhead Marinelife Center said any eggs that made contact with salt water are unfortunately not viable. The center said the hatching season ends October 31, and believes the loss won’t have a huge impact on the population.
The boil water notice for Hutchinson Island in Martin County is over. The notice went into effect on Friday after authorities turned the water to the island back on. It had been turned off in preparation for Matthew.
St Lucie County Utilities customers near the Holiday Pines Water Plant are still asked to boil their water until further notice. The Holiday Pines Water Plant experienced a drop in water pressure after losing power, resulting in the boil water notice.
we will keep you updated!
photo credit: Tiki Steve Cottrell
