Florida residents were urged this morning to stay away from windows and doors as Hurricane Matthew's howling wind and driving rain pummelled the state, at the start of what is expected to be a ruinous, dayslong battering of the Southeast coast. By 6.30am, a 107mph wind gust was recorded in North Brevard County, Florida as the eyewall - the most dangerous part of the storm - brushed land. Two million people across the Southeast have been warned to flee inland as tens of millions along 500 miles of coastline battened down the hatches. The 'once-in-a-lifetime' storm is the most powerful hurricane to threaten the U.S. Atlantic coast in more than a decade and could be the most catastrophic to hit the north and east of Florida in 118 years. The devastating hurricane had already left more than 340 dead by Friday morning in its wake across the Caribbean as it laid waste to large swathes of coastal Haiti. 'This storm's a monster,' Governor Rick Scott warned as it started lashing the state. The hurricane-strength winds lashed Daytona Beach (main), firefighters in Indialantic braved extremely gusty winds and rain to subdue a greenhouse fire (top right) and dark clouds loomed over Orlando's world-famous theme parks - Walt Disney World (bottom right), Universal Studios and SeaWorld - which were all closed.
Florida faces the wrath of Matthew: 'Monster' hurricane slams in to Sunshine State with 100mph winds - leaving 340,000 without power and anyone refusing to evacuate facing the deadly consequences
