1.5 mn to evacuate as Hurricane Florence approaches US
Washington, Sep 12: More than 1.5 million people have been asked to evacuate their homes along the Virginia, North and South Carolina coasts as Category 5 storm Hurricane Florence approaches, an official said.
It is expected to make landfall in the area later this week, Efe news reported.
Hurricane Florence is packing sustained winds of 140 miles (220 km) per hour and remains an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 storm as it approaches the US eastern coastline, specifically the Carolinas.
In its 5 p.m. advisory on Tuesday, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said that the eye of Florence was located 580 km south-southwest of Bermuda and 1,260 km east-southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina. It is likely to become a Category 5 before landfall.
The NHC experts warned that "life-threatening storm surge (is) possible along the coasts of North and South Carolina".
"Further strengthening is forecast tonight and Wednesday. While some weakening is expected on Thursday, Florence is forecast to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane through landfall," the NHC said.
The first waves directly kicked up by the huge storm system should begin coming ashore late Wednesday. Florence was expected to bring very heavy storm surge, rain and flooding to the entire region on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Beyond the Carolinas and Virginia, which were expected to bear the brunt of the storm, rain and flooding were expected through next week in certain parts of Tennessee, Georgia, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and the District of Columbia.
Maryland and the District of Columbia have declared states of emergency.
President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency in North and South Carolina, thus facilitating federal aid to those states. He also cancelled several campaign events he had scheduled for Thursday and Friday.
"The safety of the American people is my absolute highest priority. We are sparing no expense," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after meeting with Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Administration officials.
Trump said that his administration is "ready. We are as ready as anyone has ever been", adding: "This is going to be a very large one ... It's tremendously big and tremendously wet. Tremendous amounts of water."
Hurricane and storm surge warnings have been declared from South Santee River, South Carolina, to Duck, North Carolina.
A hurricane watch has been placed in effect for Edisto Beach South Carolina to the North Carolina-Virginia border, and a storm surge watch is in place for the same zone.
The storm surge will bring significant flooding of between 9-13 feet from Cape Fear to Cape Lookout, including the Neuse and Pamlico Rivers, 6-9 feet between North Myrtle Beach and Cape Fear, and 2-4 feet to the area between Edisto Beach and Murrells Inlet.
A total of 15-20 inches of rain is expected, with isolated areas of up to 30 inches in parts of North Carolina, Virginia and the northern part of South Carolina through Saturday.
So far during in 2018 Atlantic hurricane season there have been nine tropical storms, of which five -- Beryl, Chris, Helen, Isaac and Florence -- have become hurricanes.
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South zone finalists announced at WAVES VFX challenge in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: The South Zone round of the WAVES VFX Challenge took place today in Bengaluru, organized by the Association of Bangalore Animation Industry (ABAI).
The day-long competition brought together talented participants from across southern India, with the goal of selecting top finalists who will go on to represent the region at the national finals next month during the WAVES Summit in Mumbai.
Finalists were selected in three categories:
Student Category
Winner: Soumya Das
Runner-up: Gagan HP
Professional Category
Winner: Mohamad Javeed
Runner-up: S Sai Chandan
Enthusiasts Category
Winner: Gagan Ajai
Over 1,500 entries were received from students, working professionals, and VFX enthusiasts, all centered around the theme “Super Hero Power.” Out of these, 14 entries were shortlisted to compete in today’s final round. One winner and one runner-up from each category were chosen to represent the South Zone in Mumbai.
ABAI Secretary R.K. Chand appreciated the strong participation and encouraged industry professionals to attend the Mumbai summit, which will host well-known personalities from films, advertising, and creative sectors. He also mentioned that the WAVES Challenge was recently launched in Bengaluru by Sanjay Jaju, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The event was inaugurated by Dr. Sagar Gulati, Director of the School of Creative Design and Information Technology at Jain (Deemed-to-be University), the zonal partner for the competition.
The day also featured two special sessions led by industry experts. Vijay Selvam from the global VFX studio MPC held a masterclass titled “Concept Reality,” where he discussed lighting, animation, compositing, and photorealistic effects. Students got the chance to interact with him during a Q&A session.
Another session was conducted by Rakesh H, Lead Head at The Mill, who spoke about how visual effects are used in advertising. Nearly 100 students attended these sessions, gaining valuable industry insights and learning opportunities.
