New data show the high risks caused by hurricane Matthew striking directly into the Space Coast on Friday, Oct. 7. Should this prediction come true, it will be the most powerful storm to have hit the Florida spaceport since its construction in 1962.
The Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, located in the area, have previously gone through serious damage. However, this occurrence by a Category 3 or 4 hurricane may cause serious financial problems to NASA's station, the spaceport being worth almost $11 billion.
The possibility of such an event was always known. Regardless of how well the building structure was created, it will prove to be insufficient on the off chance of a hurricane, particularly since the beach is so thin and could not offer safety. The reason behind building the center here was to isolate it from overpopulated areas, even at the expense of losing the better part of the investment.
The Atlantic has recorded an increase in the hurricane's activity in step with the rising temperatures. The latter contribute to the possibility of larger and more powerful storms, as sources at Kennedy confirmed that damage caused by hurricanes has constituted an issue since the early 2000s.
Back in 2004, Category 3 hurricane Frances stroke approximately 100 miles south of Kennedy. Even though the distance was quite favorable, the damage it produced was worth $100 million.
The hurricane has already affected parts of Florida, with winds as high as 100 mph at Cape Canaveral.
"Some of the lowest barrier islands will be completely overtopped with large battering waves and life-threatening flooding. Barrier islands are likely to be breached and it is extremely possible that new inlets will be cut off in the worst affected areas," according to the Friday morning report of National Weather Service in Jacksonville, Florida.
So far, the hurricane has maintained its predictions of the coast-hugging course.
Hurricane Matthew is a very powerful tropical cyclone occurring over the Atlantic. Since hurricane Felix in 2007, Matthew is the first one to be recorded as a Category 5 hurricane. Its tropical wave has impacted Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas on its most violent strike.
The current conditions have increased risks for Eastern Florida, the Georgia coast and the coastal South Carolina. On Thursday, Oct. 6, president Barack Obama declared a federal state of emergency for the state of Florida, later extended to Georgia and South Carolina.
