This Reddit Thread Shows the Devastating Result of Trying to Ride out a Hurricane
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Deadly Hurricane Matthew slammed into the coast of Florida, and it's making it's way up the East Coast of the U.S.
Ventusky - ventusky.com
A long list of federal and local officials, including President Barack Obama, have begged millions of people to evacuate ahead of the category three storm, but some people are still in its path, especially in northern Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.
“Pay attention to what your local officials are telling you," Obama said at the White House on Friday. "If they tell you to evacuate, you need to get out of there and move to higher ground.” A big focus of concern for officials is a storm surge, a term describing huge amounts of water driven inland by the hurricane. The water could come up as far as 11 feet in some places.
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) said that water was the biggest danger for the northern part of Florida.
"The damage there is not going to be the wind." he said to CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "It's going to be the storm surge."
A live thread on Reddit of tweets reveals the true danger of riding out Hurricane Matthew: rising water.
Another tweet reveals that the storm even forced animals to take cover.
However people in evacuation zones who took cover are on their own.
Officials warned that rescue teams and first responders would not be able to help people as the storm intensifies, and unfortunately that claimed the life of a Floridian who did not evacuate. A woman in St. Lucie, Florida suffered a heart attack but first responders could not offer her help, according to ABC News.
This was the first U.S. victim of the storm, but Haitian officials said that Hurricane Matthew killed more than 800 people in that country, according to BBC News.
Evacuating isn't so easy for everyone.
Hurricanes like Matthew do not travel in a completely predictable straight line, and they tend to wobble as they advance, like catastrophic Hurricane Katrina did in 2005. This can change what areas are affected, forcing people to make fast decisions about evacuating.
As with Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy lower income people, the disabled, and the elderly have a more difficult time evacuating affected areas.
Black Americans and poor people were more more likely to suffer physical harm or separation from their family because of Hurricane Katrina, according to Gallup. Also, a year after Hurricane Sandy poor people were more likely to still be struggling with damage to their property.
In Savannah, Georgia the evacuation order came down on Thursday afternoon. Buses were provided to take residents to the Savannah Civic Center who didn't have anywhere to go.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley tweeted a number for people to call if they have nowhere to go.
By Friday morning, about 2 million people received evacuation orders in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. However that number will most likely rise.
