FLORIDA – Fox News anchor Shepard Smith has a clear message for Floridians thinking about ignoring Hurricane Matthew evacuations – death is imminent.
"This moves 20 miles to the west, you and everyone you know are dead. All of you...and your kids die, too."
Meteorologists and anchors have a difficult job every time a serious weather event looms – finding the proper tone and message to keep people safe while simultaneously avoiding later accusations of over-hype.
Earlier in the day, he had some strong words for one Florida woman determined to ride out the storm at home:
Smith wasn't alone in offering the stark choice of death or evacuation, Florida Governor Rick Scott had this to say at a press conference on Hurricane Matthew:
After all, on August 28, 2005, meteorologist Robert Ricks foresaw Katrina's devastation and drafted one of the most terrifying weather bulletins ever, warning that "WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS" and that PERSONS…PETS…AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK."
In an interview with NBC Nightly News after the storm, Ricks was asked, "If you knew the damage was going to be like this, you did everything in your power to tell people a monster was coming, did the response break your heart?"
Ricks replied, "Yes, it did. Because we always prepare for the big one; we just didn't think it was going to come this soon."
See Ricks' weather bulletin in its entirety below: