Hurricane Joaquin Gains Strength, But Less Likely To Be Another Superstorm Sandy
Hurricane Joaquin tore through the Bahamas with heavy rains, strong winds, and storm surges on Thursday, but there is now lesser possibility of it becoming another Superstorm Sandy after all.
The United States is still bracing for Hurricane Joaquin's possible landfall next week, but the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said it now poses less threat to the East Coast. The powerful hurricane comes three years after Superstorm Sandy destroyed New York and New Jersey, according to Reuters.
"We are becoming optimistic that the Carolinas and the mid-Atlantic states will avoid the direct effects from Joaquin," Reuters quotes the NHC's regular storm update.
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Although Hurricane Joaquin intensified Thursday afternoon, it will not become another Sandy if the current projections are maintained. However, these hurricane projections are very unpredictable and Joaquin will still cause a lot of rain and floods in the East Coast, CNN reports.
The NHC said the direct impact of Hurricane Joaquin on the U.S. East Coast should not be mitigated. Sandy left over 120 people dead and around $70 billion worth of property damage in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey three years ago. For this reason, the governors of the three states warned that the incoming storm could be severe, the report details.
Hurricane Joaquin falls in Category 4 on a storm scale of 1 to 5 and is the first major tropical cyclone that posed a major threat to the northeastern side of the United States since October 2012. The third hurricane for this year's Atlantic season was last monitored on Thursday 70 miles from the south of San Salvador, Bahamas. It had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph.
Joaquin is expected to continue battering the archipelago nation of the Bahamas until Friday and gain speed as it turns northward. By that time, the storm is expected to have maximum sustained winds of 140 mph and cause severe damage. The central Bahamas could also receive between 10 to 20 inches of rain on the same day, the report relays.
The southeastern coast of the United States could also have potentially life-threatening rip currents as an effect of Hurricane Joaquin's swells. In addition, forecasters are saying that Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic could be affected by outer rain bands. Joaquin could continue its path near North Carolina by Monday and New Jersey the next day.
