Hurricane Florence was brought to life as a category five level when meteorologists first detected the storm. It set course for the coastal regions of The Carolinas. Many were told to evacuate the area before it hit the states. Over the next few weeks before landfall, Florence was downgraded to a category one hurricane. Many people did not evacuate. This raises the question of whether it should be necessary to evacuate before a hurricane hits, regardless of the category. Junior Hannah Aboker says, “Find somewhere safer to be even if it’s not severe. Some people are running out of food because of the hurricane.” On the other hand, sophomore Bez Achebe says, “I don’t think it’s really necessary to evacuate everyone. It could be A, not really useful and B, not really efficient money wise.”

Florence bombarded Wilmington, North Carolina with high velocity gusts of wind of over 90 mph and up to 40 inches of rain, according to ABC News. The heavy rain created massive floods in the area, but many citizens chose not to evacuate until it was too late. Florence became identified as a post-tropical cyclone shortly after. This brought up uncertainty about the impacts that Florence could have. Freshman Sarah Charlebois says, “The Hurricane caused a lot of damage to people’s houses and properties. It could also create flooding. People could get hurt. There’s also the issue of clean water for the people of the East Coast.” Senior Rohan Ballapragada says, “Obviously it’s going to cost the government money for the needy in the Carolinas. People are losing their belonging and their lives. It has to do with personal and other losses.”

The storm currently has taken the lives of 37 people. North Carolina has seen the most fatalities with 27. South Carolina lost eight, and Virginia has lost two from incidents and accidents relating to Florence, according to CBS News. The North Carolina governor still believes that the worst of the flooding has not occured yet and North Carolina is still at a large risk. It was estimated that Hurricane Florence will create 17-22 billion dollars of damage including damage to property, according to Economists at Moody’s Analytics on CBS News. One to two billion dollars of potential income will become lost due to Florence. This estimate for is subject to change as there are more updates with the inland flooding. Livestock were also affected by Hurricane Florence. According to CBS News, Saunderson Farms, a poultry supplier, 60 of its broiler houses were damaged from the flooding. 1.7 million chickens lives have been lost due to heavy flooding of Hurricane Florence, according to a Saunderson Farms estimate. Last Monday, emergency teams arrived at Wilmington, North Carolina. The teams rescued many citizens who were trapped by the rising floods by using a combination of boats and helicopters. Wilmington was also supplied and stocked up with fresh food and water to help their citizens get through the rest of Florence.

Despite the ongoing tragedy two, North Carolina school systems Durham and Orange County, scheduled classes during this fatal storm. The inland flooding from Florence made it almost impossible and dangerous to attempt to attend the schools. According to CBS News, there is a video online that displays a school bus trying to drive through the tall flood waters. This caused concern among many families. Parents used social media to express their concerns for their students. The two North Carolina school districts later apologized through the use of social media after many complaints by students and parents. Hurricane Florence was an unexpected and powerful storm that caused the majority of its damage through heavy rains and flooding. With such high casualties and damages people begin to wonder if we the United States are prepared for disasters like Florence. Senior Kyle Yoo says, “For this state [Washington], I don’t think so. I think other states are prepared for it.” Precautions can be taken in disaster bound areas but there is only so much one can do to prepare for such a disaster. Increased preparation will decrease the blow from the storm, but there will always be losses and damages.