Hurricane "Florence": 31 fatalities in the southeastern USA
The waters have flooded several places, like Lumberton in North Carolina here.
Photo: JASON MICZEK / REUTERS
Tropical storm "Florence" has caused heavy storm surges and extreme rainfall on the East Coast of the U.S. There are several fatalities.
Washington/Miami. "Florence" had started out as a hurricane, but the U.S. National Hurricane Center has since downgraded it to a tropical storm. It made landfall on the southeast coast of the U.S. on Friday and has been raging there ever since. "Florence" is a category 1 hurricane (of 5). We report on the effects of the hurricane in the newsblog.
Overview
- "Florence" has reached the east coast of the U.S., affecting mainly North and South Carolina
- There are first fatalities
- There is heavy rain, flooding and power outages
- One nuclear power plant was taken off the grid as a precautionary measure
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Tuesday, 18. September
+++ 8:00: Death toll rises to 31 +++
The number of victims in the southeastern U.S. continues to rise. According to a current count by the U.S. broadcaster CBS, at least 31 people died in the severe storm "Florence". According to US media, experts estimate the damage to property at more than 17 billion dollars.
Meanwhile, people in the region continue to struggle with rising river levels after the storm’s passage. 1500 roads are impassable, according to Fema, the civil protection agency. Hundreds of people are cut off from the outside world in the city of Wilmington. The vast majority of U.S. residents are not insured against flooding.
Many schools remain closed. As of Monday, 350 flights had still been canceled at airports in the region. The remnants of "Florence" also still brought heavy rains to the states of Mississippi and Tennessee on Monday.
On Tuesday, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen wanted to get an idea of the situation. Later in the week, President Donald Trump had also announced a visit to the high-water region.
Monday, 17. September
+++ 6:30 a.m.: Storm "Florence" claims the lives of 17 people +++
The southeastern U.S. continues to struggle with the dire aftermath caused by Storm Florence. According to a count by the "Washington Post", the death toll has now risen to 17 people. Among them, two young children who died because uprooted trees fell on houses where they lived.
Sunday, 16. September
+++ 18.02 a.m.: Masses of water push inland +++
Storm surges in Atlantic have backed up rivers to record levels. Its waters continue to push inland: flooding was reported Sunday even from the city of Fayetteville, which is about 150 kilometers inland.
The city’s mayor, Mitch Colvin, said Sunday, "The worst is still ahead of us."In some small communities, there was concern that places could be completely wiped out and never rebuilt – as had already happened in some places in 2016 after Hurricane Matthew.
Several people have already been swept to their deaths. Authorities confirmed six deaths; media reported many more victims: The New York Times wrote Sunday that 12 people had died, while The Washington Post counted 11 dead.
+++ 8.31 Clock : Nearly a million people without power +++
"Florence" is traveling at lower wind speeds than feared. Still, hurricane brings heavy rains and flooding.
The storm carried large amounts of water into the states of North Carolina and South Carolina over the weekend. Rivers burst their banks, roads were flooded, power lines damaged.
According to U.S. media, nearly one million people in the two states were without power. Several people lost their lives in the storm. Heavy rain may continue for days, according to meteorologists.
Saturday, 15. September
+++ 19.30 a.m. : Warnings of landslides +++
U.S. authorities have warned of landslides in the wake of storm Florence. Places in the mountains of North Carolina are particularly at risk in the coming days, the state’s governor, Roy Cooper, said Saturday. Even those who were spared from the rain were not out of danger, because the rivers are only expected to reach their highest water levels with a delay of a few days.
+++ 11.33 a.m.: "Florence" puts North and South Carolina under water +++
As it slowly makes its way inland in the U.S., the hurricane brings with it massive amounts of water. Vast areas of the states of North Carolina and South Carolina were flooded on Saturday morning (local time).
Storm surges and flooding threaten hundreds of thousands. The rains may continue for days, according to the U.S. Hurricane Center.
+++ 7.5 p.m.: Five dead due to "Florence" +++
The death toll from tropical storm "Florence" has risen to five. One woman died after suffering a heart attack, police said. Paramedics reportedly did not get to her in time because of a closed road.
Police had already reported four deaths on Friday. In the state of North Carolina, a woman and her child died when a tree fell on their home. Also in North Carolina, two men were killed, one of whom was electrocuted.
In the two states of North and South Carolina, because of the storm, there are currently about 720.000 people without power. In all, the storm threatens about ten million people.
Friday, 14. September
+++ 23.02 a.m.: "Florence" is now only a tropical storm +++
"Florence" is no longer a hurricane. The National Hurricane Center downgraded it to a tropical storm after winds weakened to below 120 kilometers per hour. "Florence" continues to unleash great destructive power, however, as it soaked up enormous amounts of water as it moved across the Atlantic, which it is now dumping over land. It is moving extremely slowly, at five kilometers per hour.
+++ 22.11 a.m.: Man dies while plugging in generator +++
According to information from CNN and the "New York Times", there is a fourth fatality from Hurricane "Florence". As the North Carolina governor’s office confirmed to them, a man died in Lenoir County while trying to connect a cable to a generator.
+++ 21.48 a.m.: Another woman dies after heart attack +++
In Pender County, police say a woman has died after suffering a heart attack. Paramedics were unable to reach them because of the closed roads.
+++ 21.06 a.m.: Woman and infant die +++
The hurricane has claimed its first lives in Wilmington, North Carolina. A woman and her infant child died after a tree fell on a home, Wilmington police said Friday. The child’s father was taken to a hospital with significant injuries.
+++ 17.33 a.m.: Helpers rescue 200 people in New Bern +++
Among the places struggling the worst with the storm’s aftermath is the small town of New Bern north of Wilmington. The Neuse River overflows its banks there. Videos show the water pushing through streets. Aid workers rescue 200 people from their flooded homes this morning, with another 150 still trapped for now. Employees of local station WCTI TV also have to leave their newsroom building because the streets around it are flooded.
+++ 15.05 am: More than 400.000 people without electricity +++
The CNN television network reported, more than 400.000 people in North and South Carolina are without power, he said. National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham said it was particularly dangerous that "Florence" was moving so slowly, staying over coastal areas for a very long time and carrying enormous amounts of water there. FEMA disaster management chief Brock Long said many emergency operations were already underway in the affected coastal region.
+++ 13.42: Wilmington first U.S. city to be hit by ‘Florence’ +++
Wilmington on the North Carolina coast is the first city to be passed over by the hurricane.
NEW: #Hurricane #Florence has made landfall near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina at 7:15 AM EDT (1115 UTC) with estimated maximum winds of 90 mph (150 km/h), and a minimum central pressure estimate of 958 mb (28.29"). https://t.co/tW4KeGdBFb pic.twitter.com/vzpe6MjTf9
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 14, 2018
+++ 12.10 a.m.: Hurricane Florence brings first floods +++
The U.S. National Hurricane Center has downgraded Hurricane Florence, but the agency still warns that "a life-threatening storm surge is already underway" in North Carolina. Catastrophic flooding also threatened in South Carolina. Initial rescue efforts are reportedly already underway.
+++ 10.27 a.m.: Authority answers questions about rumors +++
The U.S. National Coordinating Agency for Disaster Assistance, Fema, has launched a website to answer questions about rumors circulating about Hurricane Florence. One of the issues there is whether animals, such as guide dogs, can be brought into shelters. But warnings also issued about using sand from beach for sandbags to protect homes. In fact, they warned against driving to the beach. In addition, the sand on the beach is a natural barrier against storms and high tides, he said.
+++ 6.31 a.m.: Hurricane Florence continues to weaken +++
Hurricane Florence has lost further wind speed. The National Hurricane Center in Miami reported wind speeds of up to 150 kilometers per hour on Friday night. That’s the equivalent, by agency definition, of a Category one hurricane and thus the lowest hurricane level.
Hurricanes are classified into five categories based on wind speed. "Florence" had initially grown to a hurricane of force 4 in recent days, with wind speeds of up to 220 kilometers per hour in the meantime and even threatening to move up to category 5. By Wednesday, it was already weakening in strength.
+++ 05.10 a.m.: First flooding and power outages +++
With lashing rain and wind speeds of more than 150 kilometers per hour Hurricane "Florence" hit the U.S. East Coast even before it actually hit.
One of the first areas to be hit was the Outer Banks National Park hit, an island off the mainland in the state of North Carolina. New Bern also hit by storm surge. First rivers overflowed their banks, riverside roads were flooded. Power has already been knocked out in several households.
The situation will worsen drastically in the coming hours and days, meteorologists predicted. According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, the hurricane moved extremely Slow at less than ten kilometers per hour toward the coastal region around the city of Wilmington, North Carolina. This means that the center of the storm is expected to remain over the coastal region for a long time with strong winds and heavy rains. Experts expect the water load from "Florence" to pour onto the country for up to four days.
Electric utilities have dispatched thousands of special forces from many parts of the United States to the region to search for Collapse of power poles to restore utilities. Electric utility Duke Energy estimates one to three million homes and businesses could be without power.
Thursday, 13. September
+++ 21.07: U.S. southeast coast braces for days of flooding +++
On the southeast coast of the USA, people made final preparations on Thursday to prepare for a severe weather disaster that could last for days. Hurricane "Florence" is expected to make landfall in the states of North Carolina or South Carolina between Friday and Saturday morning local time, according to U.S. authorities.
On Thursday, it looked like the stretch of coastline between the city of Wilmington, North Carolina, and the resort town of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, could be at the center of the storm. Already on Thursday, the streets in the first towns were full of water after the sea level rose. Near the city of Wilmington, North Carolina, the electric utility Duke Enery took a nuclear power plant off the grid as a precautionary measure.
+++ 11.59: Fierce winds expected to reach U.S. coast Thursday +++
Meteorologists so far unable to accurately determine hurricane’s path. Depending on the calculation model, there could be as many as six nuclear power plants and several hazardous waste sites in the path of the hurricane, in addition to hundreds of thousands of homes. There is no cause for concern at this time because of the power plants, FEMA assured. Fierce winds were expected to reach the North Carolina coast as early as Thursday morning (local time), the hurricane center announced.
+++ 7.33: Many people unwilling to follow evacuation order +++
Many people in coastal North Carolina and South Carolina want to keep their Do not leave houses. About this, for example, the mayor of the resort town of Myrtle Beach in South Carolina had complained. People from the threatened coastal areas also repeatedly spoke out on U.S. television stations, saying they would rather stay at home. They would have stocked up on food and power generators and felt safe. Agency officials believe that life-threatening.
+++ 5.27 a.m.: Hurricane "Florence" weakens – still danger to life +++
U.S. authorities have warned the approaching Hurricane Florence downgraded. With winds of around 175 kilometers per hour, the storm is now raging over the Atlantic, according to the National Hurricane Center on Thursday night.
The strength of the hurricane, which has been downgraded to a Category 2 out of 5, will change only slightly until it makes landfall, it added. The agency nevertheless continues to warn of life-threatening storm surges and heavy rains.
Maximum winds from #Florence have decreased, but don’t let that fool you. This "weakening" only refers to maximum winds. The wind field has expanded and rainfall/storm surge potential are still at catastrophic levels.https://t.co/meemB5uHAR pic.twitter.com/IRiuxeVeUf
— National Weather Service (@NWS) September 13, 2018
Wednesday, 12. September
+++ 21.1 p.m.: Trump issues urgent warning about "Florence" ++++
The authorities and at their head President Donald Trump urged people in the region once again Wednesday to follow instructions to evacuate their homes. "Don’t play games with him. It’s big," Trump said in a video message about the hurricane.
+++ 19.43: Austronaut Gerst shows hurricane from space +++
The German Astronaut Alexander Gerst published images of the hurricane on Twitter on Wednesday – taken by the International Space Station (ISS) From. To that end, he wrote that "Florence" was so large that they could only have photographed the hurricane with a wide-angle lens. "Be prepared on the east coast," Gerst urged. "There comes a Nightmare heading your way, not to be trifled with."