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.
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.
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.”
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.
The post As Matthew Departs, Battered Cities Focus on Recovery and Flood Control appeared first on Newsline.
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