Dear Commons Community,

Millions of coastal residents either are on the move or hunkering down anxiously in place as Hurricane Florence surges toward the Carolinas.  Early predictions have it on a path that could lead to tremendous destruction due to the enormous amount of rain it is predicted to produce.

“This could be an unprecedented disaster for North Carolina,” said Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at the University of Miami, in a post on Tuesday on his popular hurricane blog.

As reported by various media, a powerful Category 4 storm, with winds over 130 miles per hour, Florence should reach land by Friday, and when it does, is expected to be a monster. In addition to its powerful winds, the storm will slam the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia with a huge, life-threatening storm surge, the National Hurricane Center has predicted. And once it is ashore, its drenching rains may cause “catastrophic flash flooding and significant river flooding” over a wide area of the Carolinas and the Mid-Atlantic states.

In the face of those threats, many coastal residents and vacationing tourists streamed inland yesgterday, prompted by evacuation orders issued by the governors of North and South Carolina and many local authorities. Others said they would wait, hoping to squeeze in one more day of fishing or beachgoing before heading for the hills. And some said they would defy the storm and stay put.

There was also additional concern about the readiness of the federal government and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist during and after Hurricane Florence makes landfall. Confidence in the government was not helped by the words of President Trump who praised the  “incredibly successful” job done in Puerto Rico, where the government estimates that nearly 3,000 people died as a result of Hurricane Maria last year. Speaking from the White House, Mr. Trump sought to assure the public that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was ready for Hurricane Florence saying, “We are ready as anybody has ever been.”  As reported by the New York Times: 

“Trump boasted that the federal government got excellent grades for its disaster response in Texas and Florida, but he complained that the even better job done in Puerto Rico had been ignored. “I think that Puerto Rico was an incredible, unsung success,” Mr. Trump said.

“I actually think it is one of the best jobs that’s ever been done with respect to what this is all about,” Mr. Trump said of the federal government’s response. He also falsely stated that the island’s electric grid and generating plant “was dead” before Hurricane Irma and then Hurricane Maria struck within weeks of one another.

The grid was poorly maintained and in terrible condition, but it is not the case that “it was largely closed,” or that “when the storm hit, they had no electricity, essentially, before the storm,” as the president stated.

Electricity was not restored to every customer on the island until a few weeks ago. The director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority said that about a quarter of the $3 billion in repairs, which were paid for by the federal government, would probably have to be redone.

“If he thinks the death of 3,000 people is a success, God help us all,” said Carmen Yulín Cruz, the mayor of San Juan, in a post on Twitter.

Our prayers are with the people in the Carolinas!

Tony