Hurricane Joaquin Research Paper

The rainstorm that appeared late last week in the Southeast has now moved to the Carolinas; into the early hours on Monday tremendous amounts of rain continued to fall upon the city. Columbia, the capital the South Carolina received over 20 inches of rain, all from an unpredicted low pressure system (South Carolina Flood). A mass of residents and businesses in Columbia were engulfed by over a foot of rainfall overnight (East Coast Rain). “Sunday was the wettest day in the history of Columbia, according to the National Weather Service. The rainfall total at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport was 6.87 inches, the most rain that's ever fallen there in one day” (South Carolina Flood). At a news conference Governor Nikki Haley explained the issue, this is different than a hurricane because it is water, it is slow moving and it is sitting. We can't just move the water out (East Coast Rain). Tropical moisture pushing towards the United States, specifically the Carolinas, from Hurricane Joaquin is what is causing the tremendous amounts of rainfall (Rathbun). A category 4 storm, Hurricane Joaquin has become extremely powerful and dangerous. Moving from the central Bahamas, it moves towards the U.S. bringing winds over 118 miles per hour, extreme flooding, and excessive amounts of

Officials are warning people to take precautions and avoid the flooding as much as possible to remain safe. Columbia and two other surrounding counties are taking precautions to prevent further injuries. A curfew was put into effect, citizens were told to stay indoors, and drivers were told to remain off the roads until the flood water begins to dwindle. Also, in fear of a water line break, all 375,000 people in the area were told to boil their water before using to to drink or to cook with (East Coast Rain). Restoration and reconstruction tasks lay ahead, but people still remain hopeful (South Carolina