Hurricane Florence: “Storm Of A Lifetime”
• At press time, Hurricane Florence was a Category 3 storm and expanding in size as it continues relentlessly toward making landfall near Wilmington, NC. According to the latest forecasts, the storm is now expected to turn south and slowly rake the coast toward Myrtle Beach and Charleston, SC, packing damaging winds and causing flash flooding and widespread power outages. As it nears the coast, Florence’s forward motion is expected to slow to a crawl, but the winds and rain will continue at full strength.
Radio stations throughout the region (far too many to mention here individually) are already in hurricane mode and broadcasting timely emergency information to their listeners. According to The Washington Post, the National Hurricane Center says Florence will be, in all likelihood, the most intense storm to strike the region since Hugo in 1989, with a storm surge could reach up to 13 feet at peak, with hurricane-force winds that will topple trees and damage homes and businesses.
Although Florence’s peak winds had decreased slightly on Wednesday, from 130 to 120 mph, the National Hurricane Center said Florence has increased in size and energy, “which will create a significant storm surge event.” In a statement, the National Weather Service in Wilmington, NC said, “This will likely be the storm of a lifetime for portions of the Carolina coast, and that’s saying a lot, given the impacts we’ve seen from hurricanes Diana, Hugo, Fran, Bonnie, Floyd and Matthew.” [Map from The National Hurricane Center]
• As Florence grows ever closer, Benztown has graciously offered to make its vast audio production and V/O services available for free to any radio stations in the path of Florence that may need help producing PSAs to keep their communities informed about the path of the hurricane, safety precautions, critical public information and any related relief efforts. To take advantage of this complimentary service ASAP, please contact Masa Patterson, VP, Sales & Operations at 818-842-4600 or mp@benztown.com.
