“This is something to take seriously. We hope for the best, but we want to prepare for the worst,” he said, describing Matthew as a “serious storm” that could have “devastating effect”.
Matthew has already hit Haiti and Cuba, with fatal results, and is barrelling towards Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
“If you get an evacuation order, just remember that you can always rebuild. You can always repair property. You cannot restore a life if it is lost,” Obama said at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The hurricane forced Obama to cancel a visit to Florida yesterday. Instead, he made the short trip across Washington to FEMA headquarters.
“We’ve already got response teams and supplies prepositioned and ready to help communities in the region,” Obama said.
“I want to emphasise to the public, this is a serious storm. It has already hit Haiti with devastating effect. It is now in the process of moving through the Bahamas.
“Because it’s not going to be hitting enough land it is going to be building strength on its way to Florida.”
“Even if you don’t get the full force of the hurricane, we are still going to be seeing tropical force winds, potential for storm surge and all of that could have a devastating effect.”
Matthew hit Haiti and Cuba as a Category Four hurricane but has since been downgraded to three, on a scale of five, by the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Homeowners in Miami and other cities flocked to hardware stores for plywood to board up their windows and other essentials like water, flashlights and batteries.
People living on barrier islands and in flood-prone areas were urged to leave.
“Everyone in our state must prepare now for a direct hit from Hurricane Matthew,” Governor Rick Scott warned. “If you’re able to go early, leave now.”
In South Carolina, more than 1mn people living on the coast were under orders to evacuate, starting at 3pm (1900 GMT). But traffic on highways leading inland was already reported to be bumper to bumper hours ahead of time.
Matthew’s overall death toll stood at nine – five in Haiti and four in the Dominican Republic – but was certain to rise as the storm bruises its way north.
A partial assessment of the damage in Haiti that excluded the department of Grande Anse, which was in the direct eye of the storm, indicated that 14,500 people had been displaced and 1,855 homes flooded. Those numbers were expected to increase dramatically once communication is re-established with the area.
Matthew made landfall in Haiti shortly after daybreak on Tuesday as an “extremely dangerous” Category Four storm near the southwestern town of Les Anglais, packing top winds of around 230 kilometres per hour, the NHC said.
It marked the first time in 52 years that a Category Four storm made landfall in Haiti.
The storm is expected to move across the Bahamas through today and near the coast of Florida this evening, the NHC said.
A tropical storm warning remained in effect for Haiti, as did a full blown hurricane warning for Cuba’s eastern provinces.
Matthew was forecast to dump 38 to 63 centimetres of rain over southern Haiti with up to a meter possible in isolated areas, and has been blamed for triggering mudslides.
The country is home to almost 11mn people, with thousands still living in tents after the massive earthquake in 2010.
Erosion is especially dangerous because of high mountains and a lack of trees and bushes in areas where they have been cut for fuel.
