2018: The Year of the Hurricane
October 9, 2018
Hurricane Florence is the most major storm to hit the US this hurricane season, and made landfall on Sept. 14, 2018. According to a Sept. 19 report from CBS News, the storm has resulted in 37 deaths. The storm continued to travel north up into Pennsylvania and New England after making landfall.
Tropical Storm Kirk, which hit Sierra Leone on Sept. 21, is the tenth and latest named storm to form in the Atlantic Oceanic in 2018. Three different Atlantic storms have made landfall in the Continental U.S. so far.
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said that 16 rivers in the state nearly overflowed with water; the city of Greensboro reported that contaminated water from a sewer has overflowed and entered freshwater streams and rivers. People around South Carolina have begun to loot stores out of desperation for supplies and food for their families. According to a Sept. 16 report from ABC News, local police arrested five people for looting a Dollar Store.
Many colleges across the state of South Carolina were evacuated due to threats of flooding. According to a report from Independent Mail, seven large schools in the state have taken action on the incoming threat, including Coastal Carolina, University of South Carolina and Clemson University. USC has cancelled classes until further notice, but was not evacuated. The school instead urged staff and students who live nearby to stay home. Coastal Carolina has closed their campus for at least a week, but may stay shut longer based on damages. Clemson has cancelled all classes and activities in the area, and has closed all off campus locations until further notice.
Other than Florence, there have been 12 other named storms in the Atlantic Ocean this year. As of Sept. 12, there were five active storms. According to a report from CNBC, Tropical Storms Helene and Isaac were active in the Atlantic, as well as Subtropical Storm Joyce and Typhoon Mangkhut in the Pacific. Helene made landfall near Portugal on the island chain of Azores while Isaac was set to hit the Caribbean Islands.
