Hurricane Matthew: It was the most powerful storm to threaten the U.S. Atlantic coast in more than a decade, and had already left more than 330 dead in its wake across the Caribbean. (AP Photo/Tim Aylen)
More than 450 people have been reported killed in Haiti in the wake of Hurricane Matthew that swept through the country uprooting houses and rendering thousands homeless. It also scraped the Atlantic coast of Florida shutting out power and communication in millions of homes. Emergency had been declared in the states of Florida and South Carolina by the Obama administration which began evacuation procedures much ahead of the hurricane’s arrival.
Hurricane Matthew is one of the strongest to hit Florida in more than a decade. It came with wind speeds of 120 mph, howling and causing chaos across several coastal areas.
To truly understand the hurricane’s ferocity, one needs only a look at some of the videos circulating on Twitter. Many of these short videos, showing the damage of the storm, are posted by reporters and storm hunters.
The roof just ripped off the house we are next to. That was one strong wind gust. Cape Canaveral, FL @TheWeatherNetUS@StormhunterTWNpic.twitter.com/HIPUiF6ceP
— Jaclyn Whittal (@jwhittalTWN) October 7, 2016
Cape Canaveral, FL outer eyewall Hurricane #Matthew@TheWeatherNetUS@StormhunterTWN@georgekourounispic.twitter.com/W2a4WgHEhD
— Jaclyn Whittal (@jwhittalTWN) October 7, 2016
As Hurricane Matthew barreled in from the Atlantic threatening coastal cities with surging tides, Florida faced quite possibly the most dangerous storm in living memory. Though the hurricane was downgraded to a Category 3 one, people were still warned that they should not take the risk of staying back in their homes.
“The winds are ferocious right now,” Jeff Piotrowski, a 40-year-old storm chaser from Tulsa, Oklahoma told Reuters.
As Hurricane #Matthew hits, this is Florida right now http://t.co/9U7IRMOZ1m pic.twitter.com/jaz92InOKc
— CNN (@CNN) October 7, 2016
Powerful winds on the bridge out to the barrier island. @TheWeatherNetUS @jwhittalTWN #HurricaneMatthew pic.twitter.com/zRMJSZtqkf
— Mark Robinson (@StormhunterTWN) October 7, 2016
Evacuation orders were issued for areas covering at least three million residents and major cities like Jacksonville, Florida and Savannah, Georgia lay in the path of the terrible storm.
Daytona Beach imposed a curfew that was to last until dawn tomorrow. As the first bouts of heavy rain and powerful gusts arrived at seafront resorts presaging the storm beyond, more than 90,000 homes and businesses in Florida had lost power.
An angry ocean here in Indialantic #HurricaneMatthew is coming in fast. @weathernetwork @jwhittalTWN pic.twitter.com/RAcZYavegc
— Mark Robinson (@StormhunterTWN) October 6, 2016
Stormhunter @georgekourounis sampling some of the winds with #Matthew. @jwhittalTWN@StormhunterTWNpic.twitter.com/Bl6rvEXYKT
— Jaclyn Whittal (@jwhittalTWN) October 7, 2016
Matthew has already battered Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas and US officials are taking no chances, warning that loss of life is a virtual certainty. “This storm is a monster,” declared Florida’s Governor Rick Scott. “I want everybody to survive this. We can rebuild homes. We can rebuild businesses… We can’t rebuild a life.”
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