Russian-Speaking US Residents Preparing For Hurricane Florence

Russian-Speaking US Residents Preparing for Hurricane Florence

A dangerous Hurricane Florence is approaching the US coast from the Atlantic Ocean and can strike the coast of South and North Carolina as early as on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th September, 2018) A dangerous Hurricane Florence is approaching the US coast from the Atlantic Ocean and can strike the coast of South and North Carolina as early as on Friday.

Local authorities declared mandatory evacuation of vast areas, and at least 300,000 people have already been evacuated. Several Russian-speaking residents in the United States told Sputnik how they prepare for the hurricane.

Mandatory evacuation was announced in the historic city of Charleston, the tourist center of South Carolina. The mayor of the city said that residents could only stay at their own risk. According to a former Moscow resident, Tatyana Bayer, some of her acquaintances stayed in Charleston, while others left the city. Tatiana and her husband are expecting a child and decided to leave, so that if necessary, they could get to the doctor and the hospital.

"We arrived in Orlando [Florida] this morning from a hurricane ... We stay with our relatives," Tatiana said.

Tatiana said she works in a state organization that closed temporarily, as soon as the governor announced mandatory evacuation. Tatyana's husband works as a programmer and can work from home. Tatyana told Sputnik that she and her husband prepared their house in Charleston for a possible flood.

"We sprinkled the sand around the garage, it [the sand] was given away for free last weekend, we bought gasoline and stored it in a can in advance, because gas stations were already closed when we were leaving," she said.

According to Dmitry Pakhotin originated from Odessa, Ukraine, many people stayed in the city of Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, which may become the epicenter of the hurricane. This popular resort with many miles of ocean beaches annually receives up to 14 million tourists.

"You can still see cars on the roads, but the city looks deserted. Most of the residents have already been evacuated. Many have hammered windows with boards, some of them plan to leave tomorrow morning [Thursday], and I'm one of them," Pakhotin said.

Pakhotin thinks that the authorities will impose a curfew to avoid the growth of thefts in the city, because "a sufficiently large number of people decided to sit out the hurricane in their homes."

Preparation for the hurricane is well under way even in areas located far from the ocean.

"I'm in the western part of North Carolina, we are expecting rain, maybe small floods on Sunday. There is nothing special in addition to a minimum of water purchases and canned food," Russian-speaking US resident working as a police officer told Sputnik.

He suggested that a command center for coordination elimination of consequences after the hurricane will be created in the city and in the district.

Not only police, but also units of National Guard, acting as internal troops in the United States, are ready to eliminate the consequences of the hurricane.

Maria Varnum-Kalashnikova lives in Raleigh, the capital city of North Carolina, a major economic center with a population of almost half a million people. More than 200 kilometers (124.2 miles) separate Raleigh and the nearest point of the ocean coast, but the city is also preparing for the hurricane.

"All schools are closed on Thursday and Friday, we do not have to work either. Everybody will stay at home and wait for a force of nature ... We have an electric generator, four baths filled with water plus bottled water. We revised first-aid kits, we have everything for providing first aid; we laid in food supplies, like whack-a-moles," Maria said, adding that her family was also preparing for the hurricane.

Maria also said that she saw a long column of ambulances, fire trucks and emergency vehicles on Tuesday on highway 195, connecting the entire Atlantic coast of the United States.

"Preparation is well under way," she concluded.

The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its advisory on Thursday that hurricane Florence has been downgraded to a Category 2 storm but is expected to bring a "life-threatening storm surge" and heavy rainfall as it approaches North Carolina.