A Hurricane named Matthew leaves a wake of destruction in the South.
Hello everyone, I’m Rick Jackson, thanks for joining us.
A week ago, were telling you about Hurricane Matthew. The severe tropical storm plowed through the Caribbean late last week, intensifying from a Category 1 storm, to a Category 5 storm within just 24 hours. A category 1 storm is the weakest, while a category 5 storm is the most intense that we can measure.
To determine the growing strength of the storm, NASA used new satellite technology to get amazing images – which allowed them to peer inside the rapidly intensifying storm.
So right along with them, we can see the storm grow – as it intensified over the island of Hispaniola, hitting the impoverished island nation of Haiti particularly hard. Up next, we’ll head back down to earth, to get a closer look at Matthew’s aftermath.
THIS IS WHAT THE PATH OF A HURRICANE LOOKS LIKE FROM THE AIR. THE STORM LEFT TREES, SCATTERED LIKE MATCHSTICKS ON THE HILLTOPS.
"Look at how all these trees are just stripped of foliage here. [pan to trees on hilltop],. Stripped of foliage you can actually see the roofs of homes on the hilltops, the roof just blown away"
HURRICANE MATTHEW KILLED HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE…AND LEFT TENS OF THOUSANDS HOMELESS. WE'RE FLYING OVER HAITI'S SOUTHWESTERN PENINSULA, ONE OF THE MOST ISOLATED PARTS OF THE COUNTRY.
"This is the only real way that we can get a sense of the scale of the damage caused by Hurricane Matthew. Because Haiti does not have a great network of roads, and there are a series of islands off of Haiti's' Coast like Isle la Vache we're looking at it now."
THE PEOPLE HERE WEREN'T SO LUCKY.
(Ivan Watson, CNN Senior International Correspondent) "How is your house?"
(Raoul Roa, Hurricane Matthew Survivor) "My house broken down"
(Ivan Watson, CNN Senior International Correspondent) "Everything's gone? SINCE THE STORM, RESIDENTS OF PORT SALUT CLEANED MUCH OF THE DEBRIS OFF THE ROADS… BUT AT NIGHT THEY SLEEP OUTSIDE SHATTERED HOMES… IN THE DARK… "When do you think you'll get electricity here again?"
(Raoul Roa, Hurricane Matthew Survivor) "Nobody know when. Nobody know when."
(Ivan Watson, CNN Senior International Correspondent) "This is a close-up view of some of the damage that we could see from the sky. Just one home that was ripped apart by the hurricane winds. That made a mess of people's meager belongings. And hurt a lot of people too who had to wait days for emergency medical care." THESE PEOPLE SURVIVED THE MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE THEIR COUNTRY HAS SEEN IN GENERATIONS. A GRIM REMINDER…ABOUT THE POWER AND FURY OF MOTHER NATURE.
After devastating the Caribbean, the hurricane seemed to be on a direct path toward Florida, leading Governor Rick Scott to declare a state of emergency there, and to urge evacuations:
"I know no one wants to sit in a shelter, but you need to go there now and get through the storm. Save your life. It might not be the best accommodations, but you don't want to go through 100-150 mph winds, storm surge, rip currents and all these things. This is about saving your life."
However, it’s up to each resident to determine whether to leave their homes and seek shelter -- and some people chose to stay -- like these residents in Saint Augustine. Mayor Nancy Shaver described the predicament:
we were hopeful that as many people as possible would move. If they have not moved now, they need stay as safe as they can and we will obviously get to them as quickly as we can when the storm passes.
By refusing to evacuate, residents not only risk their own lives -- but could potentially force emergency responders into unsafe situations to rescue them.
Instructional Links
Images: NASA Goddard Media Studios, Hurricane Matthew Live Shots
http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12387
Website Article: Ready.gov, Hurricanes
https://www.ready.gov/hurricanes
Website Article: Ready.gov, Evacuating You and Your Family
https://www.ready.gov/evacuating-yourself-and-your-family
Website Article: Kids Crossing, Watch Out for Dangerous Weather
http://eo.ucar.edu/kids/dangerwx/hurricane1.htm
Game: National Hurricane Center, Create-a-Cane