News 12 Long Island spoke with some former Long Islanders who were caught in the middle of powerful Hurricane Matthew as it worked its way up the East Coast.

Vicky Brick, formerly of Moriches, moved to St. Augustine, Florida two months ago. While not in the evacuation zone, she says she decided to wait out the storm from her home. By Friday evening, Brick, who spoke with News 12 via FaceTime, was among the hundreds of thousands of people without power.

News 12 also spoke with Kevin McGovern, of East Moriches, who woke up to Matthew's wrath around 3 a.m. Friday at his second home in Melbourne Beach, Florida. He called Matthew worse for him than Superstorm Sandy.

"This was a lot scarier," McGovern says. "The winds and the devastation -- if it had hit at the Cat 4 they were calling for, I'd say half the roofs would be gone."

Brick says Florida forecasters told residents to prepare for 20 hours of heavy rains and winds. The mayor of St. Augustine says the city was experiencing widespread flooding from storm surge that could top 8 feet.