Joaquin, Churning Toward Bermuda, Causes Massive Floods In U.S.

Once the rain ends, the threat of flooding persists because the ground is too saturated to absorb water, meteorologists said.

With a storm surge, Stachowiak said the ocean reached the base of the dune on the barrier island on the Atlantic Ocean by midday Friday, water was above the platform at the marina and sand had blown into the campground.

The heaviest rain Friday and Friday night will fall in central and eastern parts of North Carolina.

The hurricane has been linked to the drowning death of Sylvia Arteaga, 56, who was caught in a flash flood in Spartanburg, South Carolina while driving home. President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in South Carolina and ordered federal aid to bolster state and local efforts as flood warnings remained in effect for many parts of the East Coast through Sunday.

Crews in Brunswick County, North Carolina, spent Friday night checking on and evacuating residents from homes along the coast due to significant flooding there, the country emergency management office said in a press release.

“It’s going to be enormous”, meteorologist Ryan Maue of Weather Bell Analytics said.

“It looks like we dodged a bullet this time”, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said amid street flooding at the Jersey shore, devastated by Superstorm Sandy almost three years ago. “Let’s keep our fingers crossed”. Forecasters warned that even if Joaquin peels away from the coast, its effects will still be felt, because it will continue to supply tropical moisture to the rainstorm.

Areas to the north and east may see a break in the rain on Saturday while the focus shifts more to the south and east. Rainfall of 4 to 6 inches is expected from this part of the storm.

While it appears Joaquin won’t make a direct hit on US mainland, communities from the Southeast to New England still had their gutters full. “If we get a landfall, we get 15 inches of rain and winds of 80 miles per hour”.

Forecasters say between 5 and 10 inches of rain are possible in the mountains before the weekend is over.

Parts of Virginia and Maryland could get up to 5 inches.

The centre says it expects to have a better indication whether the storm is going to be a concern over land on Friday afternoon. Coastal flooding could become moderate late Friday and into the weekend during high tide cycles.

In Poquoson, Virginia, Joy Bryant canceled a yard sale because her property was half-submerged and cars couldn’t get down the road.

About 13,000 sandbags are being filled at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia as the installation prepares for days of rain and the possibility of being hit by Hurricane Joaquin.

“Joaquin tore off roofs, uprooted trees and unleashed heavy flooding in the Bahamas, and the U.S. Coast Guard searched for a missing 735-foot cargo ship with 33 people aboard”.

Hurricane Joaquin will pass well to the east of Georgia-Carolina, and will not make landfall in the United States; however, the storm will contribute to heavy rain and severe flooding across portions of much of South Carolina and possibly portions of the CSRA.

Kines said that the storm is still expected to dump as much as 8 to 12 inches in a few parts of the Carolinas, which could cause serious flooding.

Virginia State Police say they’ve responded to dozens of vehicle crashes throughout the state as heavy rains cause problems for motorists.

The Halifax-based Canadian Hurricane Centre says there’s a high degree of uncertainty around the storm’s track forecast.

Pedestrians negotiate rainy conditions along Lexington Avenue Friday, October 2, 2015, in New York.

Rain and wind from the Category 3 storm threaten to pummel the state this weekend.

Hurricane Joaquin is finally moving away from the Bahamas.