On October 7, 2016, Hurricane Matthew was lowered to a Category 2 hurricane that devastated Florida’s coast and slowly headed north. Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina were all put in a State of Emergency. Matthew developed in the Atlantic Ocean over 2 weeks ago and traveled over 3,000 miles. When it hit the Eastern Caribbean, it became a hurricane rapidly intensifying and was categorized as a Level 5 Hurricane with 160 mph winds.
Casualty rates in Haiti have been recorded to be about 300 deaths but are expected to rise. Meanwhile, Matthew has claimed 4 lives in Florida. Two residents, a male and woman, were trying to drive out the storm when a tree fell on the car, killing the woman, while the man escaped with minor injuries. Another woman was killed when she went out to feed her animals, and a tree fell on her.
Roads in Florida were washed away due to flooding and the harsh conditions that the waves were in. The hurricane caused the power to go out for over 1 million people in Central and South Florida. Expecting power to further go out as the hurricane moved along the coast, the state officials advised people to stay put. 23,000 people were sheltered in 180 different locations. With no ports open, Florida had enough gasoline to last for 5 days.
It has been suggested that Hurricane Matthew will be worse than Hurricane Katrina when its final toll is taken. Hurricane Katrina hit with winds at 125 mp, while Matthew’s winds were 140 mph. The destruction caused is also expected to be worse than Katrina’s destruction, despite the fact that death rates due to Katrina were high because of the failure to evacuate citizens from the path of the hurricane; meanwhile, citizens have been advised to evacuate in a mandatory evacuation with Hurricane Matthew.The total destruction caused by Hurricane Matthew is still being tolled.
An individual that lives in Jacksonville, Florida messaged around 9 AM on Friday, October 7, 2016, telling how things were going. He said that around 2PM the hurricane was supposed to hit the worst, and at 8:06 PM, he lost power. Living in Jacksonville, Florida, they were at the rear of the hurricane. They didn’t have any more rain, but they were told that they were expected to have a viciously windy night with strong gusts and flash floods along the coastline.
Hurricane Matthew is finally coming to a close in its destructive path, but that doesn’t mean that the destruction it has left behind is over. Now, in all of the cities that it has hit, they are left to grieve over those lost and to rebuild their cities.
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