“Joaquin could have power outage impacts on par with those of Sandy if it maintains a track towards major East Coast population centers, though there is substantial uncertainty about the track”, said Guikema, a University of Michigan associate professor of industrial and operations engineering.
Advertisement
Joaquin had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (210 kph) and hurricane strength winds extending 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the eye, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
Hurricane Joaquin is expected to move well off the South Carolina coast this weekend, but forecasters say its moisture will enhance the rain over the state.
Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger tells local news outlets the death occurred when several cars were submerged in flash floods. The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings Tuesday in southwest and central Virginia, among other areas, with 2 to 4 inches or rain forecast from the Blue Ridge to the Alleghany Mountains.
So far, there’s been little consensus among computer-prediction models for the hurricane.
Gordon said the area has had a lot of rain in the past several days. In Salem, 30 members of a water-rescue team removed 100 people from a low-lying apartment complex and trailer park.
A few roads were closed Wednesday in Guilford County, and emergency medical service Director Don Campbell said he feared that more rain expected through the weekend would topple trees and knock out power.
He said he spent an uneasy night wondering what would be waiting for him at home: “I was just sitting there praying”.
To the west in Elliston, Shannon Sledd waited out the storm in the house she shares with her disabled parents and her two sons.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory also declared states of emergency.
Heavy rains were falling in downtown Charleston early Thursday afternoon, but it was high astronomical tides that closed a number of streets and intersections in the city before the rains began. Palafox said she had discussed the weather forecast with Arteaga earlier this week, but she hadn’t seemed concerned about the expected heavy rains.
Advertisement
Flood warnings and watches are in effect up and down the New Jersey coast already.
