Hurricane Matthew: ‘Big Bad Beast’ Storm Batters Florida
Hurricane Matthew has damaged the Florida coast, because of which four people have been left dead and millions without power. In the US, the system hasn’t made a landfall, but has downgraded to category two with winds of about 165km/h. The storm is moving northwards, off to the coast of Georgia. In Haiti, North America, the death of more than 840 people happened because of Matthew.
On Friday, at 23:00 local time,the eye of the storm was seen moving northwards just off the coast of Georgia. It was about 70 miles southeast of the city of Savannah as the US Newspapers reported. Some of the states of the US have been declared as the state of emergencies, e.g. Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina.
The Sheriff’s Office in Putnam County, Florida, reported that a woman who was sheltering in a camper van, died when a tree fell on her. One more male occupant survived with some minor injuries. Earlier too, a death was reported of a woman in her 60s who also died due to a falling tree in Volusia County. There were two other people who died from carbon monoxide fumes that were running on a generator in their garage.
According to the world newspapers, President Barack Obama on Friday morning addressed that the winds of the storm can wash coastal communities spread over a stretch of the 500-mile from South Florida to about Charleston in South Carolina. Matthew could end up dumping up to 15in of rain and can cause a storm surge of about 9ft or even more. About two million people have been asked to leave the coastal areas of Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.
There’s nothing that can be done, For about 12 hours the shelter has been worn out by rain and wind. It feels insistent. The sounds of the wind are strange and very creepy. The water makes such whips that it’s tough to figure out if you’re being hit by sea spray or the driving rain as reported by world newspapers.
Thousands of people have stooped down to schools that have been converted into shelters. About 22,000 people have been moved to shelters. Patients in nursing homes and hospitals have been moved to safer locations. In many areas, cars had queued for fuel and residents have been stocking hardware supplies and food.
Us Newspapers show that Fort Lauderdale and Orlando airports have been shut and more than 4500 flights have been canceled. Also, the cruise lines in order to avoid storms have re-routed ships. It might take a few days more for some passengers to reach their destination by sea.
Most people have taken all the warnings very seriously. The doors as well as the windows have been boarded as the prime beach front property that has been discarded for a safer ground. People are feared of the coastal flooding and storm surge. Matthew is very unpredictable and no one can actually figure out if the worst is done or is still to be done.