USA: Hurricane Floyd Churns Towards The Carolinas Forcing Millions Of People To Flee

Record ID: 4101

  • Title: USA: Hurricane Floyd Churns Towards The Carolinas Forcing Millions Of People To Flee
  • Date: 15th September 1999
  • Summary: Hurricane Floyd churned toward the Carolinas on September 15, driving more than three million people from the coast and spreading floods, high seas and howling winds ever further northward. Floyd weakened slightly as it neared land but was still blowing at 115 mph (190 kph). It dumped at least 5 inches (12 cm) of rain along the North Carolina coast and sparked fears of disruptive flooding as far north as New York. But it was still strong enough to spark the largest ever exodus of people, leaving streets and whole towns in the path of the storm deserted. In historic Charleston, South Carolina, devastated by Hurricane Hugo 10 years ago, the few remaining residents who had not heeded evacuation orders prepared to bear the brunt of the storm, rapidly filling emergency shelters. Further up the coast, Myrtle Beach was almost deserted and shops and tourist attractions on the seaside boardwalk were boarded up. Waves swamped over sand dunes and onto pavements. Local resident James Northrop checked into a Myrtle Beach hotel to ride out the storm. "I figure I'm going to lose my house, so it'd be best to stay here", he told Reuters Television. Abnormal ocean swells generated by Floyd reached as far north as Massachusetts, and the danger of catastrophic flooding hung over much of the US East Coast with the possibility of storm surges 11 feet (three meters) higher than normal high tide. The vastness of Floyd's swirling storm system, about 300 miles (480 km) across, would make it slow to weaken, imperilling much of the eastern seaboard even after it makes landfall, forecasters said.
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords:
  • Access Restrictions:This media cannot be downloaded as there may be copyright restrictions. Please contact us for more information
  • Location: USA SOUTH CAROLINA CHARLESTON
  • Reuters ID: LDL0012BMAMVR
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text:
  • Copyright Holder: Reuters Archive
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
Register