Hurricane Matthew made landfall on the U.S. coast in South Carolina on Saturday, packing a diminished yet still powerful punch after killing almost 900 people in Haiti and causing major flooding and widespread power outages in the U.S. Southeast.
The storm, which left flooding and wind damage in Florida, soaked coastal Georgia and South Carolina on Saturday but was packing a diminished punch. Wind speeds had dropped below 85 miles per hour (135 kph), making it a Category 1 hurricane, the weakest on the Saffir-Simpson scale of 1 to 5.
It made landfall near the town of McClellanville, north of Charleston, according to the National Hurricane Service, which warned a “serious inland flooding event” was unfolding.
At least four deaths in Florida were attributed to the storm, which knocked out power to least 1.5 million households and businesses in the southeastern United States.
In Florida, 775,000 were without power, according to state utilities, while in South Carolina 433,000 had no power, Governor Nikki Haley said. Georgia Power said at least 275,000 were without power in the state. (Reuters)
