As Matthew Departs, Battered Cities Focus on Recovery and Flood Control

Hurricane Matthew, the most powerful storm since 2007 left 19 people and millions without power in its wake. Devastated by the typhoon, residents in the southeastern part of US, are now recovering from the extensive damage. These people began their recovery efforts as authorities warned several states of flooding. The officials told them that rivers will continue to swell in the coming days.

On Sunday, the typhoon, reduced as post-tropical cyclone continued to ravage the Caribbean killing 1,000 people in Haiti.

At the peak of the storm, the destruction left 2.2 million citizens without power. The number was later reduced to 1.6 million residents in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. Local authorities are cleaning up to clear debris left in the streets, mainly fallen trees and abandoned cars.

Rivers continued to rise and five people were reported missing. A total of eight people had died in the state. Pat McCrory, North Carolina’s Governor said they are expecting the death toll to increase.

He added that several rivers persisted in swelling and are anticipated to hit the highest record levels. The governor stated, “Hurricane Matthew is off the map, but it is still with us and it is still deadly”.

According to The National Weather Service the “life-threatening flooding” will continue until Monday. Moreover, the flooding will spread across the eastern part of the state.

Water from coastal storm surge, overrun rivers and creeks continue to flood coastal and inland communities.

The Princeville town located in Tar River about 25 miles (40 km) north of Greenville evacuated 2,000 residents on Sunday. They were given warning about the risk of flash flooding.
The Fayetteville fire marshal said in a phone interview that several dams reached its limit. These are around Cumberland County, South Raleigh, and Michael Martin.

Rescue Operations

Swiftwater rescue team performed 701 rescue operations in 255 rescue calls. They are still on high alert.

In South Carolina, one person was killed when a vehicle while trying to cross a flooded roadway was swept away.

334 rescue workers carried a total of 877 rescues overnight risking their lives to save others, said Gov. McCrory.

In Cumberland County alone, 500 rescue operation were carried out. One of the memorable was from a roof of an SUV where an out-of-state firefighter saved three people.

Battalion Chief Joe Downey of the Fire Department of New York said a creek became a “roaring, raging river”. Because of the flash flooding, a vehicle was swept away off the road on Saturday. Downey was part of 64 rescues performed overnight on Saturday and Sunday from three different states. He said, “Water was almost up to the roof of the SUV. It was bad. They had nowhere to go.”

Heavy Downpour

According to a resident of Florence, Jake Williams said his power was out since Saturday. In an interview, he said, “Trees are down in every neighborhood on almost every road. I am no weather-man, but would guess that the gusts of wind were near 100 mph (160 km), and with soggy ground a lot of trees couldn’t stand up to it.”

Meanwhile in Virginia Beach over 13 inches (33 cm) of rain deluged the city. The city remains impassable as 200 vehicles blocked several roads. Also, 55,000 residents remain without power on Sunday night.

States like Norfolk declared a state of emergency and work is ongoing to clear debris and abandoned vehicles out of the streets. The city will resume its normal function as city offices, libraries, and recreational center re-open on Monday.

Another Threat

The National Hurricane Center cease all tropical warnings since the storm was heading out on Sunday 5 PM (2100 GMT). Hurricane Matthew’s epicenter was about 200 miles (320 km) off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

However, the storm continues with deadly winds of 90 miles (150 km) up to 240 miles (390 km).

U.S. President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Georgia and Florida. Relief support was rushed and faster recovery efforts were started to clear infrastructure and debris.

Despite the fact that Hurricane Matthew is out of the country, the Atlantic hurricane season will last until November 30. On Monday another tropical storm was forecast to gain speed on Tuesday. Tropical storm Nicole moves towards Bermuda around 500 miles (800 km) south of the island.

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Americans Flee Coast as Hurricane Matthew Approaches US

President Barack Obama and state governors advised millions to evacuate or brace for a possibly destructive Hurricane Matthew. Residents near the southeast US coast on Wednesday stocked up on groceries, lined up for gasoline and took off inland.

Matthew, considered the strongest Caribbean storm in nearly a decade, battered the Bahamas and heads directly for the United States. The US National Hurricane Center said that it would likely hit Florida with heavy rain, powerful winds and storm surges on Thursday.

Obama emphasized in a briefing with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that if there’s an evacuation order in their community, people should take it seriously.

FEMA has placed commodities and other supplies in Albany, Georgia and at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. They also positioned personnel to emergency operation centers in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina.

According to the Miami-based hurricane center, Matthew is a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of about 115 miles per hour on Wednesday night. They added that it was too early to forecast where the hurricane was expected to do the most damage.

Emergency measures

In Florida, Governor Rick Scott appealed to those areas at risk to evacuate as soon as possible. The inhabitants may start leaving even if orders had not yet been issued.

Scott also called for Obama to declare a pre-landfall emergency for Florida. This would bring federal resources such as water, food and tarps, and would augment an already active force of 1,500 National Guard members with an additional 1,500.

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal’s office said he extended a state of emergency proclamation to include 17 additional counties. This brings the total to 30 counties.

Medical staff cleared at least four hospitals as evacuations were proceeding in about a dozen of Florida’s coastal counties, Scott said.

Authorites expect the initial effects of the storm on Saturday morning in South Carolina. At this time drivers at the state already report gridlocks and long delays.

On social media, Floridians said they were stocking up on groceries and setting up their homes with hurricane shutters.

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Hurricane Matthew – Haiti braced for imminent catastrophic strike

Hurricane Matthew, the most powerful Atlantic tropical storm since 2007, is set to make a potentially devastating and catastrophic strike on Haiti, eastern Cuba, and the Bahamas.

Millions of people are bracing themselves for what could be life threatening flash floods and mudslides caused by the Category 4 hurricane which is on course to strike Haiti tonight or Tuesday.

A hurricane watch is in effect in the northwest Bahamas while coastal southeastern US states could feel the effect of Matthew later this week and into the weekend.

Domenica Davis, a Weather Channel meteorologist, said: “This is shaping up to be a devastating blow, especially to places like Haiti and Cuba.”

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned: “While there remains significant uncertainty in the track of Matthew in the long range, the threat to Florida and the southeastern U.S. coast has increased.”

Hurricane watches continue for the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Cuban province of Camaguey, and have now been extended to include the northwestern Bahamas, including the Abacos, Andros Island, Berry Islands, Bimini, Eleuthera, Grand Bahama Island and New Providence.

The NHC said Matthew, with maximum sustained winds near 130 mph, was “extremely dangerous,” especially as conditions looked right for it to maintain its strength.

Michael Lowry, a hurricane specialist for The Weather Channel, said: “It’s kind of a resilient hurricane — it hasn’t really wavered much in terms of its strength.

“It’s a little bit unusual to go 48 hours with a category 4 or 5 hurricane and not to see some sort of fluctuation.”

Haiti, where up to 25 inches of rain is expected,has started to evacuate residents from outlying islands which could be hit by up to 40 inches of rain.

Meanwhile the U.S. Agency for International Development has deployed two disaster response teams to Haiti and Jamaica.

It is not yet known for certain whether the hurricane will head for the east coast of the USA or make its way out to sea.

However Florida governor Rick Scott urged residents to be prepared for “impacts that we have not seen in many years,” if the hurricane hits.

Matthew has killed at least two people so far: a 67-year-old man who was swept away by a stream in Uribia, Colombia, and a 16-year-old boy who was crushed by a boulder on the island of St. Vincent.

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