North Carolina Floods Following Hurricane Matthew Traps Hundreds

Floodwaters swamped North Carolina towns on Monday as rescuers assisted hundreds of residents on Monday in the wake of Hurricane Matthews. Officials also cautioned that life-threatening flooding from mushroomed rivers would continue for days.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Monday that some villages and towns in Haiti had just been wiped out. The hurricane killed close to 1,000 people in the impoverished nation.

In the United States, the amount of casualties climbed to at least 23, with almost half in North Carolina.

North Carolina received as much as 18 inches (39cm) of rain over the weekend but skies were clear on Monday. Raging rivers and breached levees, however, remain major problems.

Eleven people died in the state and with rivers getting higher, the governor said he anticipated an increase in fatalities.

The White House said in a statement that the flooding provoked President Obama to declare a state of emergency in North Carolina on Monday. This makes funding accessible to affected individuals in ten counties damaged by the storm.

Governor Pat McCrory said that water and air rescues would carry on throughout the day. They counted around 2,000 residents trapped in their homes and on rooftops in Lumberton, off the Lumber River.

See Related News: As Matthew Departs, Battered Cities Focus on Recovery and Flood Control

More flooding expected

Central and eastern towns along the Lumber, Neuse, Cape Fear and Tar rivers expected major flooding. The National Weather Service forecast disastrous flooding due to anticipated overflowing of the Neuse river on Friday night.

On Monday afternoon, emergency officials in North Carolina’s Lenoir County declared a mandatory evacuation for businesses and residents near the Neuse River.

Several inland and coastal communities remained under water from storm surge or swarming rivers and creeks.

Governor Nikki Haley, in neighboring South Carolina, alerted that waterways were rapidly reaching capacity around the state.

Emergency services reported three storm-related deaths in her state, she said.

Downed power lines also elicited warnings as around 715,000 businesses and homes were without power on Monday night in North and South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia and Florida.

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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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Hurricane Matthew Damages NASA’s Historic Artifacts

Photos released on Saturday, October 8 show an aerial view of damage to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida from Hurricane Matthew. The typhoon sustained winds of 90 mph (145 km/h) with speed exceeding 105 mph (170 km/h). It struck the Space coast overnight from Thursday to Friday at a speed of 26 miles (42 km) heading out northwards towards the coast of Cape Canaveral.

Pictures show that the 52-storey Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) still intact. Beside the VAB however, a large space shuttle artifact seems to have collapsed. They also show the orbiter access arm that used to be on top of Launch pad 39A on its side in the VAB’s parking lot.

During Hurricane Frances, VAB lost 820 panels on its south wall. In September 2004, VAB lost another 25 panels on its east wall. It was lucky not to receive any damage from Hurricane Mathew. Photos taken on Saturday show no damage done to the wall. The giant US flag and the NASA logo on the south side also looked to have escaped damage.

Adjacent exhibits like the armored M-113 astronaut escape vehicle and the Orion abort system tower replica remains intact.

A number of support buildings in the area lost portions of their roof. The same thing happened to the roof of a 1962 vintage two-story structure called the Beach House. This building served as the astronauts’ hangout prior to launch.

Kennedy Space Center officials wrote in a statement released on Saturday, “It was determined that the center received some isolated roof damage, damaged support buildings, a few downed power lines and limited water intrusion. Teams of inspectors are going from building to building assessing damage.”

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex appeared relatively unharmed. However, the top of Thor-Delta booster rocket was missing. Thor-Delta is one of the seven historic boosters displayed at the popular Rocket Garden.

Officials did not disclose and details on damages on the historic Mercury and Gemini launch pad and facilities at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Nevertheless, on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite imagery, the replica of Mercury-Redstone rocket can be seen standing at Launch Complex 5 (LC-5).

Older buildings from the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base, which controls the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, also sustained damage.

Back to business

The Visitor Complex will re-open on October 9, Sunday. NASA will resume tourist sightseeing without bus tours of the Kennedy Space Center along with Apollo/Saturn V Center on NASA’s property. But on Monday it will restart its direct bus service to the moon booster’s building.

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Couple Ride Out Matthew in Tower in the Middle of the Ocean

More than 30 miles off the Atlantic coast, a North Carolina man and his fiancée are riding out Hurricane Matthew on top of an old Coast Guard light station. Richard Neal is the owner of the podium, called Frying Pan Tower. Accessible only by boat or helicopter, the structure stands around 100 or so feet above the ocean. The tower has amazing views of the sunrise and sunset but there’s no land in sight.

Neal bought the light station from the government after the Coast Guard vacated it in 2004. Radar and GPS made the light station outdated for ships traversing the shallow Frying Pan Shoals.

Neal leases the station out as a vacation home. The area boasts of mild weather and good fishing in the Gulf Stream below.

Because of the good fishing in the Gulf Stream below and the generally mild weather through out the year, the tower is leased out by Neal as a vacation home.

They are getting some incredibly massive waves that make the tower shake and tremor. Nevertheless, steel is amazingly tough, Neal said after acknowledging that the light station is a “solid old beast”.

Neil inadvertently rode out Hurricane Arthur on the tower two years ago when he and his guests got shut in by the storm and couldn’t leave. Matthew had about the same wind speed as Arthur as they approached North Carolina. Hence, Neil believed the structure would be safe this time.

Tower shakes and leaks during storm

He said that all the structure would do is shake and leak.

Neal said he coordinated with the Coast Guard and admitted he would be on his own should anything happen to the tower.

He said that he and his fiancée discussed about going back to the mainland about two or three times. They decided to stay anyway.

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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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