Worst of Hurricane Matthew will be over by midnight, Miami-Dade County mayor says

Miami-Dade County businesses to reopen Friday

DORAL, Fla. – The worst of Hurricane Matthew will be over by midnight, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said at a Thursday afternoon news conference.

Gimenez said some county services will begin resuming and all evacuation shelters in the county will be closed Friday morning.

The mayor said the Miami-Dade Transit will provide bus transportation from the shelters at 10 a.m.

All other bus service is resuming at 7 a.m. and the Metrorail will open at 6 a.m.

By 6 p.m. Thursday, some areas of Miami-Dade County experienced down trees and power outages. Power lines were knocked down in a North Miami Beach neighborhood, cutting off power to residents in the area.

Beaches in the county were closed, but Local 10 News reporter Glenna Milberg said there were still surfers out at Miami Beach without lifeguards present, and some people were walking along the sand looking at the waves.

Milberg said some Miami Beach businesses remained open and had many customers as people started venturing out once they saw that the storm wasn't affecting the area too badly. 

Marinas throughout the county are expected to reopen at 10 a.m. Friday and bridges will begin reopening at 6 a.m.

Gimenez said recycling services will resume Saturday and Sunday, and garage pickup will take place Monday and Tuesday.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools will still be closed on Friday as assessment teams inspect the schools to make sure that there was no damage to the facilities. 

Weekend activities are expected to go on as planned, and classes resume Monday.

Click here for the latest updates from Miami-Dade County.

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About the Author:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.