The long expected hurricane intended to hit Florida made headlines as at the last minute, something unexpected happened . On Sept. 1, the hurricane hit the northern part of the Bahamas as a category 5 hurricane with 185mph winds and lasted over 48 hours. By Sept. 5, the Bahamas were in absolute ruins and Dorian was onto its next target. 

By that evening, 20 people had been confirmed dead, hundreds are being rescued and hundreds more are still waiting to be rescued. Dave Sanders, a volunteer EMT and history teacher here at Skyline, said,  “They [the people of the Bahamas] could experience everything from hypothermia and deep water to impalement and being swept away. There are after effects as well, people who could suffer from PTSD, survivors guilt, loss of life and numerous other things.” The hurricane was on a deadly and destructive rampage as many waited for Florida to be hit next. 

 Just as the state of Florida was waiting for the hurricane to make landfall, something strange happened. Hurricane Dorian changed course and started to travel up the east coast leaving Florida 5-8 inches of rainfall and purple skies. Dorian seemed to be responsible for 13 tornadoes that touched down in South Carolina on the 5th. On Sept. 6, Dorian weakened slightly to a Category 1 storm with max winds of 90 mph as it made landfall over Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, at 8:35 a.m. ET, according to the National Hurricane Center. Almost 350,000 residents and businesses were without power in North and South Carolina while the storm raged on, and the death toll increased by 10 in the Bahamas, bringing the death toll to 30 as intense rescue and relief efforts were ongoing. 

As South Carolina and Charleston started to survey the damage done, they concluded that Dorian’s eye passed within 55 miles, bringing heavy rain and wind gusts of up to more than 70 mph. By Sept. 9 hurricane Dorian had successfully moved away from the east coast and into the ocean. People had moved from bracing for the impact and effects of the deadly storm to turning their attention to the disaster relief and rescue efforts being made in the Bahamas who took the worst of Dorian with the confirmed death toll at 45, missing people into the hundreds, and an estimated 70,000 homeless. There is still no power or fresh water coming in to the people still in the Bahamas. 

Trump made headlines with hurricane dorian after showing a printed map projection of hurricane Dorian hitting Florida; however, what made the whole ordeal national headlines is what appeared to be a hand drawn, black line including part of Alabama in the hurricane’s pathway, now labeled the “Sharpiegate.” The National Weather Service said shortly after President Trump’s tweet that Alabama would not be included in the storms pathway at all, causing strong criticism to president Trump from forecasters. “ He probably shouldn’t have included Alabama if he knew it wasn’t going to hit Alabama. But maybe he’s just trying to be safe about it…but he probably shouldn’t have done it,” Megan Whiting (11) said.