Hurricane Matthew Weakens Along South Carolina Coast

Charleston. At least 9 people in two US states have died as a result of Hurricane Matthew, which has also left 1.9 million households and businesses without power across the Southeast region. Rain fell at a rate of about 1 inch per hour in the heavier bands. The Category 2 hurricane will near North Carolina’s southern coast by Saturday night, the center says. The second SC death occurred near Florence when a driver tried to cross a flooded road and was swept away.

Most of the deaths happened when vehicles were swept away by floodwaters.

Matthew, the most powerful Atlantic storm since 2007, was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone on Sunday after its rampage through the Caribbean killed almost 900 people in Haiti. Meanwhile, in Haiti, slammed by Matthew earlier in the week, the toll continues to rise.

Others reported much higher deaths.

Matthew has been downgraded from a hurricane to a post-tropical cyclone, and no further damage is expected as it moves east away from the coast. By the time it arrived in McClellanville, Matthew was just barely a hurricane, with winds of just 75 miles per hour. Rainfall totals in Savannah, Georgia, topped 17 inches.

Around Williams’ apartment complex, several trees have also toppled. Matthew plowed north along the Atlantic coast, flooding to. Five people are missing. “This could be worst than Floyd”. In Raleigh, the dam at Lake Benson was breached Saturday night. Pat McCrory said during a Saturday morning news conference.

In addition to the seven deaths in North Carolina, there were four in Florida, three in Georgia and two in SC, where a 66-year-old man was found outside his nursing home in Columbia, pinned beneath his electric wheelchair and face-down in standing water from the rains, a coroner said. Floodwaters in areas around Fayetteville, Windsor and Greenville had started to recede.

Interstate 95 was still blocked in four different places. That number includes 701 rescued in Cumberland County alone, authorities said Sunday.

“It’s still packing the same hurricane-force winds and potential for flooding and is still as deadly as a hurricane”, she said.

Matthew caused plenty of chaos before it reached the Carolinas.

Within an hour of residents being allowed to return Saturday to Jacksonville Beach, Florida, David Villmow had fired up the two pizza ovens at his beachfront restaurant, The Art of Pizza. The Daytona Beach pier remained intact, but debris and sand littered the boardwalk, and the steel railing that wraps around it was bent and twisted.

At Mount Sinai apartments in Fayetteville, Alisha Brooks said she lost everything when Matthew rolled through. Deal activated 2,000 National Guard troops. The residents of the multi-story buildings had already evacuated, and no one was injured, a statement from the city said. Burglar and fire alarms affected by the loss of electricity sounded across the city.

The National Hurricane Center is predicting up to 6 feet of storm surge on parts of St. Helena Island with this hurricane with nearly no part of the island just east of Beaufort staying dry.

“My main worry is getting back”, said Putnam, a real estate appraiser in Columbia.

Streets in downtown Charleston, known for its historic waterfront architecture, were flooded to the tops of tires on some parked cars.

She lives in an area of the city that’s not too prone to flooding and added while she’s a little anxious “it floods even when it doesn’t rain here, just from the high tide”. His was the second weather-related death in SC. Bridge so inspectors could look for problems.

“The immediate concern is life-threatening rain and water (from storm surge)”, he said.

People walk down Station 30 with their dog as Hurricane Matthew hits Sullivan’s Island, S.C., Saturday, October 8, 2016.

“We’re not seeing as much structural damage, which is the good news of that, as much as we’re seeing flooding”, Gov. Nikki Haley said. “Do not plan to go home”, Haley said, asserting that driving conditions weren’t safe.

“I’m so upset. I don’t have nothing left” she said. “But I’m not going to lie: There’s a little bit of nervous tension right now”. “Most injuries, most fatalities occur after a storm”. Tri-county officials said no curfews would be in effect this evening. Speaking to the more than 355,000 people who evacuated, she urged them to take their time. Kiawah and Seabrook islands were inaccessible.

Matthew left more than 100 roads impassable in the Charleston area Saturday morning, and damage assessments had yet to be completed in a large portion of the state, officials said.

“Can you imagine clinging to a tree overnight?” And they’re pine trees.

“I’m not regretting staying”, Todd said by phone.

Charleston County Sheriff’s spokesman Maj. Hurricane Matthew’s torrential rains. Power outages are also expected.