Page 2 - ARUBA TODAY

A2 UP FRONT
Thursday 7 sepTember 2017
At Press Time: Irma: Carolinas, coastal Georgia
Irma slams Caribbean islands with rain, wind going on to emergency footing

Continued from Front bris and give other services the storm but all flights were By RUSS BYNUM, Associated Press
that will largely be paid for sold out, and she worried SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Shifting forecasts raised the
The U.S. National Weather by the U.S. government. about her home in Tampa. threat to the Southeast from fierce Hurricane Irma on
Service said Puerto Rico EPA officials said their big- “When you’re from Florida, Wednesday and prompted emergency declarations
had not seen a hurricane gest concerns were oil spills you understand a Catego- in the Carolinas and coastal Georgia, including areas
of Irma’s magnitude since and power disruptions to ry 5 hurricane,” said Jack- that haven’t suffered a direct hit from a major hurri-
Hurricane San Felipe in water supply systems. son, who was scheduled to cane in more than a century.
1928, which killed a total “No matter what precau- fly out Friday. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emer-
of 2,748 people in Gua- tions we take, the coastal The U.S. National Hurricane gency Wednesday for the state’s 100-mile (160-kilo-
deloupe, Puerto Rico and flooding will impact oil Center said Irma’s winds meter) swath of Atlantic coast, which was last struck
Florida. tanks,” said Catherine Mc- would fluctuate, but the by a hurricane of force Category 3 or higher in 1898.
“We have to prepare for Cabe, a regional adminis- storm would likely remain at His South Carolina counterpart, Gov. Henry McMaster,
the worst,” Puerto Rico trator. Category 4 or 5 for the next declared an emergency for that neighboring state
Gov. Ricardo Rossello said. Another concern was the day or two as it roared past as officials assessed the chances of receiving a ma-
“If we don’t, it could be 20 Superfund sites in Puerto Puerto Rico, the Dominican jor hurricane strike there for the first time in almost 28
devastating.” Rico and the three in the Republic, Haiti, Cuba, the years.
Puerto Rico’s public power U.S. Virgin islands, given Turks & Caicos and parts of “It is a precaution. This is not an order of evacuation,”
company has cut back that most were near the the Bahamas. McMaster said in Columbia, South Carolina’s capital,
on staff and maintenance coast, she said. She said By early Sunday, Irma is adding evacuations could be ordered as early as
amid a decade-long eco- EPA officials in New Jer- expected to hit Florida, Friday — if needed. “Assume it’s arriving tomorrow
morning and get ready. When that hurricane is com-
ing, when it gets close, it’s too late.”
The last major hurricane to hit South Carolina was
Hugo in September 1989. It slammed ashore just north
of Charleston with winds of 135 mph (215 kph), caus-
ing 13 deaths in the state and $6.5 billion in damage
in 1989 dollars.
Also, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper declared a
state of emergency taking effect at 8 a.m. Thursday
for the entire state. He added that all swift-water res-
cue teams the state had sent to Texas for Hurricane
Harvey were expected back in North Carolina by
Wednesday night.
Irma had winds of 185 mph (295 kph) on Wednesday,
making it the strongest Atlantic Ocean hurricane ever
measured, as it raked across Caribbean islands nearer
to South Florida. Forecasters said tropical storm force
winds could reach Georgia over the weekend and
possibly South Carolina soon after, though Irma’s ex-
act path remained uncertain still days away.
In Chatham County, Georgia’s most populous coastal
county that includes the historic tourist city of Savan-
nah, emergency management director Dennis Jones
A man surveys the wreckage on his property after the passing of Hurricane Irma, in St. John’s, told reporters Wednesday that many first responders
Antigua and Barbuda, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017. Heavy rain and 185-mph winds lashed the and emergency planners probably won’t stick around
Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico’s northeast coast as Irma, the strongest Atlantic Ocean hurricane if Irma arrives with the fury it has been showing in the
ever measured, roared through Caribbean islands on its way to a possible hit on South Florida.
(AP Photo/Johnny Jno-Baptiste) Caribbean.
“We don’t have a sturdy enough facility to support a
nomic crisis and the agen- sey were on standby to fly where Gov. Rick Scott said major category storm,” Jones said, adding that “first
cy’s director warned that down after the hurricane he planned to activate responders, critical workforce” and others would es-
some areas could be with- passed through. 7,000 National Guard sol- tablish operations further inland in Statesboro, about
out power from four to six State maintenance worker diers by Friday and warned 60 miles (95 kilometers) west of Savannah.Officials
months because the infra- Juan Tosado said he was that Irma is “bigger, faster sounded similarly dire warnings Wednesday across
structure has already dete- without power for three and stronger” than Hur- the Savannah River from Georgia’s oldest city in South
riorated so badly. Outages months after Hurricane ricane Andrew. Andrew Carolina. Beaufort County Sheriff’s Lt. Col. Neil Baxley
were reported in some Hugo killed dozens of peo- pummeled south Florida 25 said that South Carolina county was preparing for the
neighborhoods well ahead ple in Puerto Rico in 1989. years ago and wiped out worst case scenario, which would be a landfall near
of the storm, with more “I expect the same from entire neighborhoods with Hilton Head Island with a storm surge of up to 15 feet
than a half million people this storm,” he said. “It’s go- ferocious winds. (5 meters) of water. He added that police and fire-
without power and more ing to be bad.” Trump also declared an fighters, in a dangerous major hurricane, would have
than 4,500 without water Tourist Pauline Jackson, emergency in Florida, and to evacuate until wind and surging waters abate.
by Wednesday evening. a 59-year-old registered authorities in the Bahamas “While every one of them is a hero, they are not super-
The federal government nurse from Tampa, Florida, said they were evacuating heroes,” Baxley said. “They are not immune to trees
stepped in, with President puffed on her last cigarette six southern islands. falling on them.”
Donald Trump this week as a San Juan hotel pre- Experts worried that Irma In Georgia, Deal’s emergency declaration covers the
approving an emergency pared to shutter its doors could rake the entire Flor- state’s six coastal counties. It ensures aid for coastal
declaration for the U.S. ahead of the storm. ida east coast from Miami communities and prohibits price gouging for fuel and
Virgin Islands and Puerto “I’m in a hurricane here, to Jacksonville and then other goods and services. It also relaxes regulations
Rico. That means the Fed- and when I get home, I’ll head into Savannah, Geor- on trucking to allow increased deliveries of storm relief
eral Emergency Manage- be in the same hurricane. gia, and the Carolinas, strik- supplies.
ment Agency and other It’s crazy,” she said. ing highly populated and “I urge Georgians in the affected counties to remain
agencies can remove de- She tried to leave ahead of developed areas.q vigilant and be prepared,” Deal said in a statement.q