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Rooms Scarce In South GA, Big Bend As Area Fills Up With Hurricane Matthew Evacuees

Interior view of a hotel room - Marineland, Florida. 1980
Florida Memory
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State Archives

Hotels across North Florida and South Georgia are sold out as Hurricane Matthew batters the east coast. Weary travels in evacuation zones are being told to go further west.

About two million people in the region are under evacuation orders due to impact from Hurricane Matthew. It’s a scale Leon County's tourism director calls unprecedented:

“Lodging is incredibly scare and non-existent in Tallahassee and westward," said Kerri Post.

And as people begin to move hotels and other temporary spaces are filling up.  Post says areas further west still have openings, but customers should double-check.

"Our accounts show there’s a little availability in Fort Walton-Destin, area. And otherwise Dothan, Alabama—but we know those are filling up fast. We've even had people say they've had to go as far as Chipley."

Governor Rick Scott has been promoting a partnership with Air BnB but listings on the home-share site are also growing scarce. More rooms and hotels may start becoming available Saturday afternoon and Sunday.

Follow @HatterLynn

Lynn has been with WFSU since 2007 with education and health care issues as her key coverage areas.  She has worked with several news organizations, including Kaiser Health News.  Lynn has also partnered with USC-Annenberg's Center for Child Wellbeing on the nationally acclaimed series "Committed," which explored the prevalence of involuntary commitment use on children.

She has served on the boards of the First Amendment Foundation of Florida and the Radio, Television, Digital News Association, and is a current board member of the United Way of the Big Bend.

Lynn holds a bachelor's degree from  Florida A&M University and earned her master's at Florida State University.
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