Evacuations continue as Hurricane Matthew nears

Buses line up Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016 as residents of Tybee Island, Georgia, evacuate the island ahead of Hurricane Matthew. (WIAT) (Copyright by WSLS - All rights reserved)

Sebastian Posey, Media General – TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (MEDIA GENERAL) – A mandatory evacuation is in effect for Tybee Island, Georgia. Busses were stationed outside the town hall on Thursday to help shuttle residents off the island. One of the people boarding the buses was Marie Milburn.

She's been on the island for nearly 30 years but this is only her second time evacuating. She left the island during Hurricane Hugo in 1989. She's not alone for the trip. The 79-year-old widow is joined by her caregiver and her service dog, Mugs.

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"I'm most concerned about my home being gone," said Milburn.

There was a mandatory evacuation in place on Wednesday for the island. It was something she says she wasn't ready for.

"We were supposed to have left yesterday by 3:00, but I didn't even get prepared yesterday I was so upset. ... I'm 79 years old, and that's a lifetime of everything that I own."

Marie, her dog Mugs, and her caregiver left Tybee Island on a bus to Augusta, Georgia. Hurricane Matthew is set to hit southeast Florida late Thursday evening and is expected to work its way up the Georgia and South Carolina coast before heading back east.