Hurricane Matthew

     Although the weather in Southern California seems uncontrollable as it continues to fluctuate, this is not the craziest weather in the United States. Since September 23, hurricane Matthew has torn through parts of the South, and recently causing flooding in North Carolina. The storm’s death rate is more than three hundred and has elicited fear in many people. While it is dying down and will be gone in a short time, it has left an impact.

Six of the reported 14 deaths happened in Florida. Three have been reported in Georgia and South Carolina as well. 650,000 people were without electricity for a large portion of the reign of this tropical storm.

     This hurricane did not only cause waves in people’s personal worlds, it caused a change in the political world as well. After the hurricane, a federal judge extended the deadline to register to vote in Florida to one day later. This was the result of Democrats in Florida stating that the storm and power outage caused an inability to closely follow the election and make final decisions.

     The rainfall reached up to 16 inches in North Carolina and many rivers reached record heights. The tropical storm also caused many gas stations to shut down in preparation.

     The storm caused much destruction to the US, but also affected many other countries. It had life-threatening effects on Haiti, Bahamas,and Cuba. At least 276 people were killed by the raging storm in these countries.

     Mourad Wahaba, the UN secretary general’s deputy social representative for Haiti, said that since the devastating earthquake, the country has not seen a “humanitarian event” any larger than this storm.

     In the Bahamas, there was not as much damage, but many trees fell and there was a power outage. There was also intense winds and rain.

     More than 30 houses were washed away due to the storm in Cuba. They evacuated coastal towns and the UN has already offered assistance to the country.

The damage the hurricane has caused is widely spread. Many nations suffered, and many are still trying to recover.