Hurricane Florence pounds US East Coast with heavy rain
Washington, Sep 14 : Tens of thousands of homes were without power and sea water was sloshing through the streets as Hurricane Florence began lashing the US East Coast on Friday, bringing powerful winds along with warnings of "life-threatening" storm surge and rainfall.
The hurricane lost power, downgraded to a Category 1 storm, as it approached North and South Carolina, but officials warned it could still kill "a lot of people" amid the risk of "catastrophic" flooding, the US media reported. Evacuation warnings were in place for more than a million people.
Roy Cooper, the Governor of North Carolina, where Florence was expected to make landfall later in the day, said surviving the storm would be a test of "endurance, teamwork, common sense and patience".
National Weather Service forecaster Brandon Locklear said North Carolina was likely to see eight months of rain in two to three days.
Reports of collapsed roofs and other structures were already reported from North Carolina's Morehead City and New Bern areas, the Washington Post reported.
New Bern was particularly hard hit with reports of more than a hundred people stranded in their homes and in need of rescue.
A gauge in the city's Neuse River near the town of Oriental indicated the water was 4 feet over flood stage and more than 5 feet above normal levels. More than 1,300 flights along the US East Coast were cancelled through Friday.
According to meteorologist Ryan Maue, the tropical cyclone was expected to unload 10 trillion gallons of rainfall in North Carolina, enough to fill over 15 million Olympic-size swimming pools, CNN reported.
Conditions deteriorated on Thursday. Some areas of North Carolina saw almost a foot of rain in just a few hours and footage showed sea levels beginning to surge on land.
More than a million people were ordered to leave the coasts of the Carolinas and Virginia, with over 12,000 taking refuge in emergency shelters. But not everyone obeyed the warnings.
Cheryl Browning, who lives with her husband and son in North Carolina, said they chose to stay put despite the warnings as they also have three dogs and three parrots.
She said she "could not find anywhere to go" as the family cannot afford multiple hotel rooms.
"Either no (hotel) rooms are available, or we are denied because of the breed or size of dogs. Many that will accept them only allow one per room. And since we have three dogs and three parrots, they're requesting us to take two to six rooms."
Several residents told CNN they were not evacuating because emergency shelters won't accept pets.
Officials in several states declared a state of emergency, including in the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia and Maryland, where coastal areas were still recovering from summer storms.
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Protests against Khamenei's killing: Curbs remain in force in Kashmir
Srinagar (PTI): Strict restrictions remained imposed in many areas of Kashmir for the third consecutive day on Wednesday following massive protests across the valley against the killing of Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, officials said.
As a precautionary measure, the government shut educational institutions till Saturday, while mobile internet speed continued to remain throttled.
"Restrictions on the movement and assembly of the people continued in many parts of Kashmir on Wednesday," the officials said.
They said strict restrictions were being enforced especially in the parts having large Shia population and those areas which have witnessed massive protests over the last three days.
A large number of police and paramilitary CRPF personnel were deployed across the city to prevent gatherings of protestors, the officials said.
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They added that concertina wires and barricades were placed at important intersections leading into the city, while asserting that these were precautionary measures imposed to maintain law and order.
The iconic Ghanta Ghar in the city centre of Lal Chowk here continued to remain a no-go zone after the authorities sealed area with barricades erected all around it on late Sunday night.
The move to seal the Ghanta Ghar came after it witnessed massive protests on Sunday after Khamenei's assassination in the joint air strikes by the US and Israel.
This is the first time since August 2019 that protests on such a large scale have taken place in Kashmir.
The government had first ordered the closure of schools, colleges and universities for two days. However, on Tuesday it decided to close the educational institutions till Saturday as a precautionary measure in view of the protests.
Mobile internet speeds continued to remain throttled while some prepaid mobile connections were also barred, the officials added.
On Tuesday, protests rocked several places in the valley, including Sumbal and Pattan areas of North Kashmir.
In Sumbal of Bandipora district, security forces had to resort to force to disperse the demonstrators.
Some media outlets and individuals, including National Conference Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, and former Srinagar mayor Junaid Azim Mattu, faced police heat for allegedly circulating misleading information.
A case was filed against Mehdi and Mattu under BNS sections 197(1)(d) and 353(1)(b) at Cyber Police Station, Srinagar, for allegedly circulating "false, fabricated and misleading content" on digital and social media platforms.
"The content in question, prima facie, reflects the dissemination of distorted narratives and unverified information capable of causing public unrest and societal disharmony. Such deliberate attempts to spread misinformation pose a serious threat to peace, security, and overall stability," the police said in a statement.
Both have been condemning the killing of Khameinei and the attacks by the US and Israel on Iran.
However, hours after the registration of the case, Mehdi, an influential Shia leader, said he would not be deterred from speaking the truth.
"The people of Srinagar did not elect their MP to recite government-approved condolences. They elected him to speak truth. That mandate does not expire with an FIR," he said in a post on X.
Police has issued an appeal to people to refrain from violence and provocation.
"We appeal to all sections of the society to exercise restraint and refrain from violence and provocation," it said.
Police said they will take strict legal action against instigators of violence and those involved in unlawful activities.
On Tuesday, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha directed officials to be on high alert and chaired a meeting of top officials of the police and army here.
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"Chaired a meeting of senior police & civil administration officials at the Police Control Room, Kashmir, to review the law and order situation. Directed the officers to remain on heightened alert and take all necessary measures to ensure public peace and tranquillity," Sinha said on X.
He appealed to the people and community leaders to maintain peace.
"I also appeal to the citizens and community leaders to uphold harmony and contribute to an atmosphere of calm and goodwill in society. Preserving peace and sustaining the progress of society is a shared responsibility that rests equally upon each one of us," he said.
