Hurricane Michael Leaves Mess Throughout Charlotte
The storm cleanup is underway. Tree debris covering roads, downed power lines and overflowing waterways.Β
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The storm cleanup is underway. Tree debris covering roads, downed power lines and overflowing waterways.Β
Governor Cooper spoke Thursday afternoon at the NC Joint Force Headquarters about impacts throughout the state from Tropical Storm Michael.
The devastation inflicted by Hurricane Michael came into focus Thursday with rows upon rows of homes found smashed to pieces, and rescue crews began making their way into the stricken areas in hopes of accounting for hundreds of people who may have defied evacuation orders.
Supercharged by abnormally warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Michael tore away tree limbs and sent pieces of buildings flying Wednesday as it struck Panama City, Florida.
Michael continues to move northeast and will continue to weaken over the Atlantic.
UNC Charlotte has cancelled classes until 11:59 p.m. tonight.
The Florida Highway Patrol has closed an 80-mile stretch of Interstate 10 to clear debris from Hurricane Michael.
The National Hurricane Center says Michael is making landfall near Mexico Beach, Florida, as a catastrophic Category 4 Hurricane, pushing a deadly storm surge and whipping the coast with 155 mph (250 kph) winds.
North Carolinaβs governor, Roy Cooper, has declared a state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Michael.
Gaining frightening fury overnight, Hurricane Michael closed in Wednesday on the Florida Panhandle with potentially catastrophic winds of 145 mph, the most powerful storm on record ever to menace the stretch of fishing towns, military bases and spring-break beaches.
A fast and furious Hurricane Michael sped toward the Florida Panhandle on Tuesday with 120 mph winds and a potential storm surge of 13 feet, giving tens of thousands of people precious little time to get out or board up.
In the storm-weary Carolinas, Hurricane Michaelβs approach is stoking fresh fears among homeowners who still have tarps on their roofs or industrial dehumidifiers drying their floors from destruction left by Hurricane Florence.
Hurricane Michael, a category 2 storm, is predicted to journey across the Carolinas late Wednesday and early Thursday, pouring 2 to 6 inches or more of rainfall.
The National Weather Service has already issued Flash Flood Watches for most of the WCCB viewing area in preparation for Hurricane Michael.
Hurricane Michael gained new strength Monday and is expected to keep growing stronger ahead of an expected midweek strike on Floridaβs Panhandle, forecasters said.
Eleven days ago, Lee Gantt was at a Hurricane Florence party in her neighborhood in Georgetown, where the story goes that some houses havenβt flooded from the Sampit River since they were built before the American Revolution
