Hurricane Joaquin

Hurricane+Joaquin

Sharia Williamson, Staff Writer

On September 25, the National Hurricane Center began monitoring an on-coming hurricane. This hurricane is called Hurricane Joaquin and it has gone in many different paths. First, it was causing havoc near the Bahamas, second, Bermuda. Then he headed to the United Kingdom, and now has switched direction to the south heading towards Iberia, as of October 6th.

Joaquin has now also flooded South Carolina, over the weekend of the 3rd and 4th of October. On Sunday, the 4th, multiple dams were breached and caused 100 people to be trapped in their homes, until emergency crews went door to door to rescue the residents from the flood waters. There are 18 dams that have been breached total. Officials are declaring that parts of South Carolina have experienced a, “one thousand year event”, meaning that these certain areas of South Carolina have a one in a thousand chance of getting this much rain in one area. There has also been a warning released stating there may be alligators and snakes displaced by the storm lurking in the flood waters.

Hurricane Joaquin has also caused a cargo ship, named El Faro, to go missing, along with its 33 crew members. Search teams have been sent out to look for survivors, as that is currently the top priority of officials. With no further known information on the missing crew, relatives had gathered at Seafarers’ Union Hall in Jacksonville, Florida; where an emotional meeting was held on the afternoon of Sunday the 4th with the coast guard. It is believed that the debris that has been found within a 225 square mile radius around the Bahamas belongs to El Faro. The coast guard is working tirelessly to confirm that the debris belongs to El Faro.

As of October 7th, Hurricane Joaquin had been dissipated. People who live in Bahamas are starting to become angry, stressed, and frustrated due to lack of supplies. The Coast Guard is working with a South Florida company, Tropic Ocean Airways, to send supplies to areas in need of water, food, and any other necessary items. Families, rescue crews, and officials are trying to rebuild damaged buildings. On October 7th, the death toll had rose from 10 deaths to 16 deaths. No other known deaths have been noted. There was an incident in South Carolina where caskets were being unearthed and taken away, with the fast moving floodwater. An older man, whose name is unknown, waded out into the floodwater, risking his own life, to pull a casket back to shore. When asked, the man told the reporter, “That’s somebody’s family out there, we need to show respect. We got to respect the dead.” There is no more information on the flood, as of now. Many families, whose lives have been devastated from the flood waters, ask for prayers and supplies.