CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Despite evacuation orders and dire warnings, Robert and Georgette Tyler said they are staying put in their 500-square foot rental home in Cape Canaveral, undeterred by a furious Hurricane Matthew, which was soon to be knocking on their door.

Taking a break from putting plywood on windows, Robert Tyler said he feared getting stuck in traffic and that it was too much trouble to pack up his motorcycles and firearms. He has two generators, 50 gallons of fuel and enough food and water for a week. Plus, he is a handyman and his phone will be ringing off the hook once the storm passes.

“It’s part of Florida life I guess, especially on the coast,” he said.

As Matthew put the U.S. in its sights, about 2 million people were encouraged to head inland ahead of the most powerful storm to threaten the Atlantic coast in more than a decade.

Matthew killed at least 16 people in the Caribbean as it cut through Haiti, Cuba and the Bahamas. The storm was forecast to scrape much of the Florida coast tonight, potentially as a Category 4 storm with 130 mph (210 kph) winds, and any slight deviation could mean landfall or it heading farther out to sea. Either way, forecasters say it is going to be close enough to wreak havoc along the lower part of the East Coast, dumping up to 15 inches in rain in some spots. Storm surge of 5 to 8 feet was expected along the coast from central Florida into Georgia.