Tybee mayor weighing storm evacuations

The mayor of Georgia’s largest public beach says local officials are still weighing whether to ask 3,000 Tybee Island residents to evacuate as Hurricane Matthew approaches the U.S. East Coast.

Tybee Island Mayor Jason Buelterman said he was prepared to issue a local evacuation order Wednesday morning but held back after forecasts showed the storm slowing in its approach. Tybee Island is located about 18 miles east of Savannah.

Buelterman said Tybee officials would re-evaluate possible evacuations later Wednesday.

The National Hurricane Center predicts Matthew will move dangerously close to the Atlantic coasts of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas in the coming days. Forecasters say it’s still too soon to know the storm’s precise path.

Gov. Nathan Deal has declared a state of emergency in 13 Georgia counties.

This story was originally published October 5, 2016 at 2:08 PM with the headline "Tybee mayor weighing storm evacuations."