By Will Prentice ’19
Hurricane Florence started on September 9, but continues to cause damage and dislocation. Although it has dropped from a category 4 hurricane to a category 1 hurricane, officials expect that it is far from over because storm surge is continuing to rise, and flooding remains imminent in many towns and cities across North and South Carolina.
In Wilmington, North Carolina, there are about 120,000 residents without the ability to get out of town due to many main roads being submerged under water. At the moment, the death toll is at 23, which includes 17 in North Carolina.
Many families are struggling, including one whose 1-year-old son drowned when the family’s car got stuck under water. In New Bern, North Carolina, residents were urged to evacuate to the top floor of their house when city officials claimed that “they were coming to get them” in a tweet, but for many, it will take a few days for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to reach them. One resident described the yells for help that she heard and when describing them, all she could say was that it was the “worst feeling ever” because neither her nor her husband could do anything to help them.
In photos, you can see people crying as they leave their life behind to evacuate, and in some, you can see people paddling kayaks, boats and even cars through the water. For many inland, the storm has not affected them whatsoever, and while it is not expected to make its way much further inland, it still remains a significant risk for coastal communities across the Carolinas.
