Hurricane Florence Sweeps the East Coast

Hurricane Florence was a category 4 major hurricane that hit the Carolinas first on September 14, 2018. Then soon after, it caused damage in Maryland and several other parts of the eastern United States. This storm caused upward of 13 billion dollars (USD) making it the sixth-costliest tropical cyclone on record. It also claimed the lives of 53 east coast residents.

It first formed from a strong tropical wave off the west coast of Africa on August 30, 2018. As Florence worked its way across the ocean it grew into a tropical storm. For several days the storms strength went up and down; however, on September 4-5 there was an unexpected swell making the storm become a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with a maximum wind speed of 130 mile per hour.

In preparation for the landfall of this hurricane most people evacuated. North Carolina’s Governor Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency, and waived transportation rules for farmers so they could get out quicker. The President, Donald Trump, also declared a state of emergency for North Carolina, and granted them access to federal funds to help with the effort. The very next day South Carolina’s Governor, Henry McMaster, did the same. With the threat of the storm several large cities put curfews in place to limit traffic and make first responder’s jobs easier. The first mandatory evacuation order, of residents and tourist, was put in place on September 10, on Hatteras Island in Dare county, North Carolina. The next day the rest of the county and 14 other countries and islands would follow suit. On those same days several local colleges cancelled games and went as far as moving students to sister schools if they had nowhere else to go.

Days before the storm hit North Carolina around 30 people needed lifeguard assistance due to the huge swells that were hitting the beaches. As it approached water levels rose up to five and a half feet higher than they normally are,  which caused flash floods everywhere. Emergency rescuers evacuated over 200 people from the flood waters. Statewide around 2,000 roads were closed including very large sections of interstates. In South Carolina very similar rainfall occurred all throughout the storm. After its dispersal the death toll ended at 53, and total cost in damages was upward of 13 billion dollars.