2016 Hurricane Matthew
Submission 13,546
Overview
Hurricane Matthew is a strong tropical cyclone that formed off the African coast and rapidly strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane in late September 2016. In the following week, the hurricane impacted several island countries in the Caribbean as it progressed northwards. It is expected to make its landfall on the coast of the southeastern United States on October 7th.
Background
On September 22nd, 2016, the formation of a tropical storm was first detected after a tropical wave originating from the west coast of Africa rippled westward across the Atlantic Ocean.[1] Throughout the rest of September, the storm gradually grew into a tropical cyclone as it steered northwest and entered the Caribbean sea, causing casualties and severe property damages in Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, and The Bahamas. By September 29th, the cyclone had been officially designated as a hurricane.
As Hurricane Matthew began approaching the southern coast of the United States, President Obama declared a federal state of emergency[2] in the states of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. As of October 7th, the storm has claimed at least 850 lives, mostly in Haiti.
Developments
Evacuations
Governors Nikki Haley of South Carolina, Pat McRory of North Carolina, Rick Scott of Florida, and Nathan Deal of Georgia all either ordered or recommended evacuations from the parts of their state that were susceptible to the hurricane. In his speech urging evacuation, Rick Scott stated the hurricane "will kill you."
The Weather Channel[3] also urged Floridians considering staying in Florida through the storm despite the urges of its Governor to evacuate.
Skull Photo
On October 4th, Stu Ostro of Wired tweeted[7] a picture of the hurricane on radar as it made landfall in Haiti. The radar made the hurricane look like a skull. The skull photo made national news, and was reported on by CNN.[8]
Shep Smith Coverage
Many outlets reported on Sandy with utmost seriousness. Some were graver than others; Shep Smith of Fox News reported that the Hurricane would kill "everyone you know, and your children too" (shown below).[5]
Right-Wing Conspiracy Theorists
On October 6th, Matt Drudge of Drudge report tweeted[4] a theory that the government had been lying to the public about Hurricane Matthew in order to make an exaggerated point about climate change. Rush Limbaugh gave similar sentiments on his show on October 5th.[10]
Online Reaction
The storm remained a Twitter moment[9] during its duration, as thousands of social media users tweeted pictures and videos of the effects of the storm. Wellington, Florida resident and rapper Vanilla Ice caused concern about his welfare when he stopped live-tweeting through the storm and went to bed.[6]
Search Interest
External References
[1] Wikipedia – Hurricane Matthew
[2] FEMA – "FEMA – Hurricane Matthew
[3] Reddit – Urgent message from The Weather Channel for Those in the Path of Hurricane Matthew
[4] Twitter – Matt Drudge Tweet
[5] Twitter – @DeathbyMartyMar's Tweet
[6] Palm Beach Post – Social media turned into a real storm during Hurricane Matthew
[8] CNN – Skull image of Hurricane Matthew spooks the Internet
[9] Twitter Moments – Hurricane Matthew moves up the East Coast
[10] Salon – Mother Nature’s myth: Why are Matt Drudge and Rush Limbaugh pushing Hurricane Matthew conspiracy theories?
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