Hurricane Matthew

Hurricane Matthew: Not everyone is evacuating as deadly storm nears

As hundreds of thousands of people potentially in the path of Hurricane Matthew fled inland Wednesday, not everyone was evacuating.

In Charleston, South Carolina, which likely will see the powerful storm's impact this weekend, some people were boarding up businesses.

Cheryl Quinn told CNN's Stephanie Elam she is planning to hunker down.

"I think we're staying put," she said. She and her husband were fine a year ago when Charleston endured heavy rain after a brush with a big storm. "It was kind of a party down here. I hate to say that," because storms can be scary, she added.

Still she has a backup plan.

"We have a hotel reservation in our back pocket, and we're kind of just playing it by ear," she said.

Officials cautioned residents of Florida, South Carolina and Georgia not to wait to decide whether they should stay or go.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott warned residents they had 24 hours to get ready, or better yet, get going.

More than 1.5 million Floridians live in the 12 counties under evacuation orders.

The National Hurricane Center isn't saying that Hurricane Matthew will make landfall in Florida, just that the center of the storm will get "very near" the Atlantic Coast, possibly as a Category 4 hurricane.

Even if Matthew doesn't come ashore, Florida will be hit by strong winds and heavy rain, Scott said.

Matthew has already killed 15 people and carved a trail of destruction in several Caribbean countries.