BARACK OBAMA DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY AS HURRICANE JOAQUIN BATTERS US COAST CAUSING DEVASTATING FLOODS

Barack Obama declares state of emergency as Hurricane Joaquin batters US coast causing devastating floods

   22:07, 3 Oct 2015
   Updated 22:21, 3 Oct 2015
   By Paul Harper

A cargo ship carrying 33 crew also remained missing after capsizing during the storms on Thursday morning

Hurricane Joaquin battered the US coast today as President Obama declared a state of emergency in South Carolina over heavy flooding.

And a cargo ship carrying 33 crew remained missing after capsizing during the storms on Thursday morning.

The violent weather system pulled away from the Bahamas on Saturday after battering the island for two days.

While Joaquin moved away from the US East Coast, dangerous flooding triggered by heavy rainfall was expected across the Carolinas, along with parts of Georgia, Virginia and New Jersey this weekend, forecasters said.

Packing 130 mile (215 km) per hour winds, the hurricane was expected to pass about 625 miles (1,005 km) southwest of Bermuda on Saturday.

Wind and rain from Hurricane Joaquin arrives on the east coast of the United States on October 2, 2015
Storm: Wind and rain from Hurricane Joaquin arrives on the East Coast

The U.S. Coast Guard said there was still no trace on Saturday of El Faro, a 735-foot (224-m) cargo ship that vanished.

The 735-foot vessel was overcome by heavy weather from Joaquin off Crooked Island in the Bahamas.

Read more : Hurricane Joaquin fears for ship lost at sea with 33 people on board

The vessel, with 28 U.S. citizens and five Polish nationals aboard, was headed to San Juan, Puerto Rico, from Jacksonville, Florida.

The ship lost propulsion and began listing and taking on water, the Coast Guard said.

It said there had been no further communications after the ship issued a distress call at about 7.30am on Thursday.

Cargo Ship El Faro
Missing: The Cargo Ship El Faro which had 33 crew members

President Barack Obama on Saturday declared a state of emergency in South Carolina after severe storms caused widespread flooding , the White House said in a statement.


Obama ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts, and he authorized federal agencies to coordinate disaster relief efforts, the statement said.

Abaca USA/Press Association Images A man on the boardwalk where businesses are sealed up and closed as rain and wind from Hurricane Joaquin arrives on the east coast of the United States on October 2, 2015
Closed: A man on the boardwalk where businesses are sealed up and closed because of rain and wind from Hurricane Joaquin

It has been raining across much of the East Coast all week, and the accumulated rainfall coupled with more on the way from a weather system only loosely connected with Joaquin has prompted repeated flood warnings from the National Weather Service.

Read more : Take cover - satellite image shows Hurricane Joaquin thundering towards Britain

South Carolina emergency officials said flash flood warnings had been issued for numerous counties.

DPA/Press Association Images Composite image of category 3 Hurricane Joaquin
NASA: Composite image of category 3 Hurricane Joaquin

They said scores of homes had already been evacuated because of flooding, including in the coastal county that includes Myrtle Beach.

More than 15 inches (38 cm) of rain has fallen over the popular Myrtle Beach area since Friday, with more expected, the National Weather Service in Wilmington, North Carolina, reported on its website.

Getty Images A woman crosses a flooded street in Ocean City, Maryland, on October 3, 2015.
Rainfall: Woman crosses a flooded street on Saturday in Ocean City, Maryland

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said. the storm strengthened slightly Saturday morning, regaining potentially catastrophic Category 4 status on a scale of one to five, but some weakening was expected over the next 48 hours.

No deaths or serious injuries have been reported in the Bahamas due to Joaquin, which cut a path of destruction across several small islands, but two deaths in the Carolinas on Thursday have been linked to heavy rainfall there.

Getty Images A seagull takes off as a man drives down a flooded street in Ocean City, Maryland, on October 3, 2015.
Flooded: A seagull takes off as a man drives down a flooded street in Ocean City on Saturday

Before the first easterly shift in Joaquin's trajectory, New York and New Jersey - where Superstorm Sandy killed more than 120 people and caused $70 billion of property damage in October 2012 - both faced potential threats from the storm.

UPI /Landov / Barcroft Two girls react as they stand on the the beach and watch high waves and rough waters hitting the shore line when rain and wind from Hurricane Joaquin
Rough waters: Two girls watch high waves and rough waters hitting the shore line from Hurricane Joaquin