You’re probably well aware of the category 4 turned tropical storm Michael that has been barreling down on Florida’s panhandle and parts of Mexico, eventually moving up north to hit Georgia, South, and North Carolina as a tropical storm and has spit some rain on the states north of it. Flash flooding and extreme winds are only the beginning of this storm’s effects as it stomps through Florida into Georgia. Here’s what’s expected to happen and the aftermath Michael has left in his wake.

Michael made a direct hit to Florida’s panhandle on Wednesday afternoon, and brought along with him devastating consequences. Named the most catastrophic hurricane in the past 50 years, Michael left about a 200 mile trail of chaos and destruction across Florida. The hurricane left many people without power and buildings damaged or even destroyed. With winds reaching speeds of 155 miles per hour, it’s no surprise that a storm with this much power could cause this much devastation. 18 people have died as a result. Hundreds of people have been rescued, mostly from the Florida coastline, but people are still searching for more victims displaced by the storm. Many patients in hospitals are also having to be evacuated due to the damage. Many places have been cut off due to roads being covered in fallen trees and power lines. Many residents of Florida are trying to get back to their homes, but the governor of Florida urges residents to stay away until the areas that have been hit are guaranteed safe.  

Michael’s wind speeds lessened to 50 miles per hour, which may seem like nothing compared to 155 miles per hour, but the tropical storm traveled up to North and South Carolina, which are still trying to recover from Hurricane Florence, which ripped a path through the Carolinas. A tropical storm coming in so soon after the deadly hurricane, Florence, just put more salt in the wound as the Carolina’s are trying to heal. Virginia is in for some rainfall, but nothing more. The storm will then move back out to sea, dissipating and weakening as it goes. Michael ends there, but it is hurricane season, and as we’ve been seeing the past couple of weeks, the storms keep coming after another one ends.

Hopefully, Michael rounds off hurricane season, but we all need to be careful and take the proper precautions for tropical storms and hurricanes. Make sure you always have access to flashlights, chargers, canned food, and batteries in case of an emergency involving a hurricane. Also make sure that you have a generator that can help you get back power if needed. It’s important to stay up to date on the weather as well, keeping note of when storms are supposed to hit your area.

That wraps up what has happened so far pertaining to Hurricane Michael, but as Michael and Florence before it have demonstrated, we can always expect another storm to hit, and we should all be prepared. Let’s hope that hurricane season is over, and we can give communities devastated by these storms a chance to recover, and help them along the way. If you want to donate to help Hurricane Michael victims, visit the Red Cross at https://rdcrss.org/2P1g6en.

Courtesy of: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/08/us/tracking-hurricane-michael-path.html, https://abcnews.go.com/US/hurricane-tracker-florida-officials-warn-michael-destructive-storm/story?id=58377692

Photo Courtesy of: Wikipedia