The death toll from Hurricane Matthew in Haiti today has reached almost 600 people. This data is provided by Reuters. There is colossal destruction on the island, and a powerful whirlwind, meanwhile, is heading towards the east coast of the United States. There is a hasty evacuation of residents in several states at once. Authorities estimate that about two million people are at risk. Experts also predict economic consequences: Hurricane Matthew could shut down 33 million barrels of oil storage facilities, leading to a sharp jump in oil prices. Gasoline prices have already gone up in Florida.

It is now almost impossible to get fresh footage from the Florida coast - the work of film crews has become extremely dangerous. Here is a correspondent from Orlando reports: “weather forecasters have downgraded the hurricane category,” and at the same time admits that she is forced to hide behind concrete blocks. It’s impossible to resist in the open space now and these are only the echoes of “Matthew”. As he moves along the coast. The peninsula froze. If the hurricane's trajectory shifts even a few kilometers, Florida may face the same fate as Haiti - there "Matthew" has already subsided, but has already left more than five hundred dead in its wake.

“I have lived in this city for 71 years and have never seen anything like this. Of course, I’ll tell you the impressions - the hurricane just demolished everything,” says one of the local residents.

One of the world's poorest countries must rely on international aid. The European Commission has decided to allocate emergency funds - however, so far only a quarter of a million dollars. The situation is urgent. According to preliminary estimates, several thousand houses were completely destroyed. Entire villages are blocked by landslides. There is no connection with them.

A few hours ago, a special research aircraft penetrated Matthew and reached the so-called eye of the storm. The center of the hurricane, where it is always clear, is clearly visible from space. The scale of the threat is also clearly visible from aboard the ISS. At any moment, the entire Florida peninsula could become uninhabitable for weeks, CNN predicts.

“We haven't seen a hurricane of this magnitude in almost 120 years. We can't even imagine what we are about to experience. It is in your best interest to evacuate before it is too late. Hurricane Matthew shows no sign of weakening, with wind speeds at its epicenter now reaching nearly two hundred and thirty kilometers per hour,” said National Weather Bureau spokesman Ben Nelson.

Hundreds of thousands of coastal residents are already left without electricity. Strong winds easily tear high-voltage lines, turning grocery shopping into a game with death.

There are two million people in the possible disaster zone. People stock up not only on food, but also on water. According to the author of the footage leaked online, buyers are fighting over a plastic bottle.

Authorities have opened several centers for emergency accommodation of people. No one has any doubt that they will be useful - the shelters are already working.

“I am homeless and live in a tent. I came here to wait out the storm,” says one of the residents of the center, Brad Witt.

The National Guard is on high alert, and the governor of Florida, in a special televised address, asked not to resist the evacuation. A state of emergency has also been declared in neighboring states - South Carolina and Georgia.

Hurricane Matthew, which hit Haiti on October 4, 2016, was the most powerful in the Atlantic since 2007 and a major incident for the republic after the 2010 earthquake. Hurricane Matthew has already killed at least 370 people.

Hurricane is the name given to tropical cyclones, mainly in North and South America.

Also, a hurricane is the name in meteorological literature for a storm with a wind speed of more than 30 m/s.

4. To measure the potential damage from hurricanes, Herbert Saffir (1917-2007) and Robert Simpson (1912-2014) developed a special scale in the early 1970s. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell):

1. Minimum- trees and bushes are damaged. There was minor damage to the piers, and some small vessels in the anchorage were torn from their anchors.
2. Moderate- significant damage to trees and bushes; Some trees were downed and prefabricated houses were badly damaged. Significant damage to piers and marinas, with small boats at anchor torn from their moorings.
3. Significant- large trees were felled, prefabricated houses were destroyed, windows, doors and roofs were damaged in some small buildings. Severe flooding along the coastline; small buildings on the shore were destroyed.
4. Huge- trees, bushes and billboards were toppled, prefabricated houses were destroyed to the ground, windows, doors and roofs were severely damaged. Areas located at a height of up to 3 m above sea level are flooded; floods extend 10 km inland; damage from waves and debris carried by them.
5. Catastrophic- all trees, bushes and billboards were knocked down, many buildings were seriously damaged; some buildings were completely destroyed; prefabricated houses have been demolished. Severe damage was caused to the lower floors of buildings up to 4.6 m above sea level in an area extending 45.7 km inland; mass evacuations of the population from coastal areas are necessary.

6. Houses destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, October 10, 2016. (Photo by Andres Martinez Casares | Reuters):

8. Florida coast, October 7. Hurricane Matthew is a Category 4 hurricane with winds of up to 235 km/h. Above - only category 5 with wind speeds > 70 m/s (250 km/h). (Photo by Eric Gay):

9. The death toll in the United States is still 33 people. Of course, this number will grow. (Photo by Stephen B. Morton):

13. Huge tree torn out, Georgia, October 9, 2016. (Photo by Tami Chappell | Reuters):

14. This residential area has become underwater. North Carolina State, October 10, 2016. (Photo by Chris Keane | Reuters):

15. Rescuers took a cat from the water, South Carolina, October 10, 2016. (Photo by Randall Hill | Reuters):

The United States and the Caribbean are counting losses from the hurricane "Matthew", which hit the region in early October 2016. And “Matthew”, which has moderated its ardor, is already being replaced by a new misfortune - the powerful cyclone “Nicole”, which is about to grow to hurricane power.

Americans were drowning in cars

According to the latest data, at least 30 people in the United States have died from the hurricane and its consequences, and perhaps the list of dead will continue to grow. Deaths were recorded in the states of Virginia, Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina. The highest number of deaths was in Florida and North Carolina - 12 and 11 people, respectively.

The governors of the affected states reported that people died not only from the hurricane itself, but also from other causes associated with the rampant nature: fires, carbon monoxide poisoning, etc. The victims were mostly citizens who were trapped in their cars that went under water.

The consequences of the hurricane have not yet been eliminated, and although the superstorm has slowed down, it has not yet retreated completely - for example, it is reported that on October 10, the water level in the rivers of North Carolina continued to rise, where the situation remains the most difficult. More than one and a half million people are left without electricity due to breakdowns on power lines in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.

The authorities of the affected states called on the US President Barack Obama declare these territories a natural disaster zone.

"Nicole" is coming

Restoring what was destroyed will require huge investments - at least $70 billion, American authorities have calculated. Experts say that the raging Matthew will be many times more destructive than the famous Hurricane Sandy, which hit the United States four years ago.

Now “Matthew” has lost its former power and is already assessed as a powerful cyclone. However, a new powerful storm with the sonorous name “Nicole” is coming on his heels. In the next 24 hours, Nicole may strengthen into a hurricane, and then the disaster will once again cover the United States.

"Matthew" and the weirdos

A hurricane is not a reason to sit at home and shake in fear, some Americans decided.

So blogger Lane Pittman from Florida published a video in which he stands half-naked on the street during a hurricane and waves an American flag to the music of the band Slayer.

Another American - Richard Neal- during the hurricane, he spent his leisure time on his own helipad. He sat comfortably in a sun lounger and took baths from the spray and waves rolling over him.

And in North Carolina, a couple in love decided not to cancel their wedding, which came just as Hurricane Matthew hit.

Haiti: piles of corpses and cholera

Hurricane Matthew battered not only the United States, but also its neighbors in the Caribbean. There are disaster victims in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The hurricane brought colossal destruction to Cuba, Jamaica and the Bahamas.

But the largest number of victims - more than a thousand - was in one of the poorest and most disadvantaged countries on the planet - Haiti, where wind speeds reached 230 kilometers per hour. Entire towns and villages have been destroyed in the country, schools and hospitals have been damaged, and there is a shortage of drinking water. Due to the fact that uncleaned corpses remain on the streets, a cholera epidemic has broken out, which has already claimed the lives of at least 13 people. According to UN estimates, at least one and a half million people in Haiti and neighboring Caribbean countries are in need of assistance.

In total, at least $120 million is needed to eliminate the consequences of the disaster and help the victims, according to the UN. While peacekeepers are delivering drinking water, food and medicine to the affected areas, temporary camps are being set up there for those left homeless.

"Matthew" who defeated "Sandy"

Hurricane Matthew became the most powerful hurricane to hit the Atlantic Ocean in 11 years. It is the first Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Atlantic hurricane scale since Hurricane Felix in 2007. "Matthew" surpassed in strength the famous superstorm "Sandy", which hit the United States in October 2012.

It is reported that Matthew, having slightly reduced pressure, will move even further north of the US east coast, bringing gusty winds and precipitation along almost the entire coast, including the northern states of Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York.

On Thursday morning, a severe Caribbean storm hit the Bahamas, intensifying towards the southeast coast of the United States, where millions of residents were warned to flee inland.

After Hurricane Matthew hit, train stations in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina were nearly packed with people fleeing the storm, and food was nearly swept off grocery store shelves. Overnight, wind speeds at the hurricane's epicenter reached 125 mph.

Florida residents are buying food

Hurricane Matthew, which killed at least 26 people and caused damage to homes in southern Haiti, is forecast to grow from a Category III storm to a Category IV storm on its way to eastern Florida. Muds are expected on Thursday evening, the US National Hurricane Center predicted.

“Everyone should be prepared now for the possibility of becoming a victim of a disaster. If Matthew directly impacts Florida, the destruction could be catastrophic, and we need to be prepared for that,” the Florida governor said at a press conference in Tallahassee on Wednesday Scott.

Four states that are in the path of the hurricane, 255 miles southeast of West Palm Beach, declared a state of emergency, and state governors decided to mobilize the National Guard.

Shelters in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina opened their doors after authorities, along with US President Barack Obama, urged local residents to leave their homes.

Federal emergency response teams are working with officials in all four states and are also organizing stockpiling, Obama said.

Scott asked President Obama to pre-announce the mudslide, declaring a state of emergency for Florida, which has resources including food, water and impervious coatings and a redoubled active National Guard force of 3,000.

Schools and airports across the region were to be closed on Thursday and some hospitals evacuated patients, local media reported. Hundreds of flights were canceled from Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida, according to data from Flightaware.com.

In total, over 12 million US residents were warned that a hurricane was approaching.

Waiting for the storm

In Florida, gas stations posted "Out of Gas" signs after hundreds of motorists waited in long lines to fill their tanks.

People stocked up on water, milk and canned goods, emptying grocery store shelves, local media footage showed.

Residents and business owners boarded up windows with plywood and storm shutters and placed sandbags to protect properties from flooding.

The National Hurricane Center noted that it is too early to predict that Hurricane Matthew will cause maximum damage in the United States. Matthew is the strongest hurricane to hit the Caribbean since Felix in 2007.

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