The tense wait is over. Hurricane Florence, now a tropical storm, struck early on Friday, the southeastern US coast wreaking havoc: flooded homes, torn roofs, fallen trees and more than half a million people without electricity. Hundreds of thousands had to leave their homes. So far at least five people have died. The cyclone, which has been demoted to the tropical storm, has launched more than 140 miles per hour over the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina. Forecasters say the main danger is not wind but rain.
The Spaniard Diego Coello and his wife needed to leave their apartment in New Bern. "We've heard from Facebook that the whole city is out of light, trees have fallen and all the houses on the banks of the river are flooded," he said in New York. It may take weeks before they return to their home in the city that was the protagonist of the worst scenes of cyclone Florence. "My particular concern is that the windows of the apartment will burst and that the water will take my car. The general thing is how the city will look. "
It is expected that the cyclone, which weakened on Friday to reach category 1 of 5 and was later demoted to tropical storm, will cross the two Carolinas over the weekend. Forecasters predict "catastrophic floods" and floods of rivers in a territory with numerous swampy lands and marshes. In the coming days, Florence will head for the interior and head west. About 10 million people live in areas that are on the alert for the hurricane. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper confirmed that the cyclone was "wreaking havoc" on the coast and could wipe out entire communities. The storm will pour enough water to fill 65,000 buildings the size of the Empire State Building, according to experts.
The panorama on the coastal streets in the Carolinas was disturbing. Sea water spilled down the avenues with pieces of buildings that were torn away by strong winds.
Human losses
According to local media, the rare cars that circulated on the main street of Wilmington, one of the most affected cities in North Carolina, had to bypass fallen trees, scraps of metal and electric wires. Off-duty traffic lights swayed in the gusts of wind. The city's airport was hit by winds of 169 kilometers per hour, the strongest since Hurricane Helene in 1958. The first two people who lost their lives with Florence were from this coastal city. A mother and her son died with the fall of a tree in their house. Then a woman died of a heart attack in Hampstead and two others in Lenoir County: the first died electrocuted when connecting a generator of electricity in the rain; the second was dragged by the wind as she went out into the yard to tie her dogs.
All of the deaths occurred in North Carolina.
For people living inside the Carolina, the moment of greatest risk will come in the next few days for the flood of rivers and mud slide. There are 157 open refuges in North Carolina with 20,000 people accommodated. The situation in Charlotte, one of the inland towns that have been turned into shelter, will be complicated on Saturday. Jack Raisanen of the American Red Cross says it will be "the worst storm" the city has ever seen. All week long, homeless people were arriving from the coast looking for greater security. Whether in hotels or at a race track. Any place can turn into a refuge. The public colleges have suspended their classes and set up the gymnasiums so that people can protect themselves in them. They do not ask for an identity document and do not confirm the address.
Those who seek protection do so because they have been through a hurricane and know what it is. The opposite is also true: people who have never experienced a similar situation and have no idea what they will face. Until Friday about 150 people arrived at these places. Upon arrival, they receive a portable bed, two blankets (one to serve as a pillow because they are not available) and hygiene paraphernalia.
The refugees have access to showers and three meals a day, donated by neighborhood restaurants. Yerderka Zorilla, 48, lives in Charleston, one of the critical points on the South Carolina hurricane route. She is afraid. Lives with him since he was a victim of Hurricane Maria while living in Puerto Rico.
The cyclone that left about 3,000 dead last year - according to official figures denied by President Donald Trump - has shattered the entire interior of his home. With the cell phone, it shows pictures showing how the debris is still in the living room and kitchen. "The water was just above the waist. It was horrible, so I prefer to stay here, where I feel safer, "he says.
Gusts of wind weakened on Friday as the day passed, but officials say it is "a
