President Barack Obama said southern Florida's population centers had dodged the worst of Hurricane Matthew Friday, although it remained "dangerous" with storm surges further up the coast a real concern.
"The bigger concern at this point is not just hurricane force winds, but storm surge," Obama said in the Oval Office, stressing the threat to the Jacksonville area in northern Florida, up as far as Georgia.
"I emphasize this is still a really dangerous hurricane," Obama said after receiving a briefing from aides including Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The Category 3 storm has so far caused limited damage in the United States, but has killed at least 400 people in Haiti.
But Obama warned that residents of America's southeastern states should not let down their guard.
"Pay attention to what your local officials are telling you," he said. "We can always replace property. We cannot replace lives."
He recalled the lessons of Hurricane Sandy, which slammed into New Jersey and New York City in 2012, leaving 200 dead and causing tens of billions of dollars in damages.
"Initially people thought 'this doesn't look as bad as we thought,' and then suddenly you get a massive storm surge and a lot of people were severely affected."
On Friday he warned that "the potential for storm surge, flooding, loss of life and severe property damage continues to exist."
"People continue to need to follow the instructions of their local officials over the course of the next 24, 48, 72 hours."
Obama said he was also tracking the damage done in Haiti, "one of the poorest countries in the world."