Flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence overtakes the town of Pollocksville, N.C., Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018. (Gray Whitley/Sun Journal via AP)
University of Connecticut students with family in the path of Hurricane Florence said that while the storm has passed, many of their relatives are trapped or without electricity in their communities.
Ten million citizens were notified of hurricane watches or warnings, and approximately 1.7 million citizens were ordered to evacuate. A calculated total of 32 deaths have taken place in North and South Carolina—25 in North Carolina and six in South Carolina, according to CBS.
Some towns in North Carolina have accumulated about 36 inches of rain, according to CBS.
While her family has evacuated, first semester political science major Melissa Hawkes said her grandparents are currently without power.
“I feel fine because they are completely safe, and everybody that they know in the town is safe. I just wish that they would have left earlier,” Hawkes said.
While there do not seem to be any deaths in the town, Hawkes’ grandparents were notified that due to the fallen trees, the town will be without power for another week, she said.
First semester business and ACES major Justin Tomaino said he has a condo in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
“Whenever a hurricane happens, they have to evacuate the whole island. There is one bridge in and one out. They have to shut down the bridges because they are afraid that cars are going to blow off,” Tomaino said.
Furthermore, Tomaino said reconstruction from a previous hurricane was still being dealt with, and damage from Florence will only make the current situation worse.
Moving farther south to Florida, first semester computer science and engineering major Michael Trecker said that his grandparents on his father’s side both live in Florida.
“They have been getting a lot of rain. Some trees have fallen and a lot of wind, but they still have power,” Trecker said.
This seems to be the extent of the storm in Florida, Trecker said. There has been no need for evacuation or implementation of other preventative measures for the coming weeks.
As the storm moved northwards, Connecticut saw heavy rains Tuesday, with flash flooding warnings for Tolland and Windham, according to the Hartford Courant, as the hurricane lessened to a tropical depression.
William Raccio is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at william.raccio_jr@uconn.edu.
