An intensive, dawn-to-dark search Saturday turned up a life ring but no other sign of a cargo ship with 33 people on board that lost power and communications off the southeastern Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin.
U.S. Coast Guard and Navy aircraft covered a large expanse of the Atlantic Ocean near Crooked Island for the El Faro, which was taking on water as it was battered by massive waves at the height of the hurricane. The search was halted at nightfall and was expected to resume Sunday.
Authorities don’t know yet what happened to the ship or whether the discovery of the life ring means that the crew were forced to abandon the ship, said Chief Petty Officer Ryan Doss, a Coast Guard spokesman in Miami.
“There are plenty of instances where things get torn off a ship in heavy winds,” Doss said. “It even happens to Coast Guard cutters.”
The life ring was spotted 120 miles (193 kilometers) northeast of Crooked Island, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) from the last known position of the El Faro before authorities lost contact with it on Thursday as Joaquin raged through that section of the Bahamas as a powerful Category 4 hurricane.
TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, the operator of the ship, said in a statement that it told family members of the crew, who gathered at a union hall in Jacksonville, Florida, that they should not be discouraged by the discovery of the life ring and that it will help the Coast Guard with the search.
“While this reflects that the ship was caught in rough seas and extreme weather, it is in no way indicative of the ship’s fate,” the company said. “Small items such as life rings and life jackets are lost at sea frequently, particularly in rough weather.”
The El Faro was en route from Jacksonville, Florida to San Juan, Puerto Rico at the height of the powerful storm. Authorities lost contact with the ship early Thursday after the crew reported that the ship was listing at 15 degrees, officials said.
In its last communication, the crew reported that the vessel had lost propulsion and had taken on water but it was being pumped successfully and the list of the ship was “reported to be manageable,” TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, the operator of the El Faro, said in a statement.
The El Faro departed Sept. 29, when Joaquin was still a tropical storm, with a crew made of 28 from the United States and five from Poland. The company described them as experienced and “more than equipped to handle situations such as changing weather.”
Coast Guard officials dispatched planes and helicopters to the area with the storm now moving to the northeast away from the Bahamas.
Meanwhile in the U.S., while spared the full fury of Hurricane Joaquin, parts of the East Coast still saw record-setting rain Saturday that shut down roads, waterlogged crops and showed little sign of letting up.
Much of the drenching was centered in the Carolinas, but coastal communities as far away as New Jersey were feeling the effects of unrelenting rainfall. Rain and flood warnings remained in effect for many parts of the East Coast through Sunday.
President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in South Carolina and ordered federal aid to help state and local efforts.
Downtown Charleston was closed to incoming traffic Saturday as rain washed out some bridges, flooded roads and left some motorists stranded as flood waters engulfed their cars.
“Where we normally are dealing with flooding for a few hours, we’re dealing with it in days here,” Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen told The Associated Press. “We’re seeing areas flood today that did not traditionally flood.”
Inland areas of South Carolina also were battered by rain. In Columbia, which is in the middle of the state, business owners spent Saturday caulking and duct-taping windows and readying sandbags.
“I know it’s going to be a sleepless night,” said Kelly Tabor, owner of Good for the Sole shoe store.
The Greenville-Spartanburg Airport in South Carolina recorded 2.3 inches of rain Saturday, smashing the previous record of 0.77 inches set in 1961, according to John Tomko, National Weather Service meteorologist at Greenville-Spartanburg.
“This one is extraordinary in that it’s such a prolonged event,” he said.
In North Carolina, Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler says farmers are starting to see the impact of the continuous rain on their crops. Apples in Henderson County are starting to split open because they’re waterlogged and farmers can’t get into the fields to harvest other crops.
“I had one farmer tell me this is like getting all of your cash assets, put them on a clothesline, waiting for the wind to blow them away,” he said.
Flooded roads were closed throughout the mid-Atlantic region and power companies reported scattered outages in several states.
In New Jersey, storms dislodged an entire house from its pilings in a low-lying area of Middle Township in southern Jersey. No one was in the residence.
The National Weather Service in Greenville, South Carolina, said that “bursts of heavy rain are likely” in the Carolinas and parts of northern Georgia that could cause some rivers and streams to flood significantly.
The rain levels had the potential to be “life threatening and historic,” the service said on its website.
Once the rain ends, the threat of flooding persists because the ground is too saturated to absorb water, meteorologists say. And high winds could bring down trees like the one that hit a vehicle near Fayetteville, North Carolina, killing a passenger.
The storm also has been linked to a drowning in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Flood watches and warnings also are in effect in Delaware and parts of New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia.
The weather service issued a warning for residents living along the coast to be alert for rising water. A combination of high water and high waves could result in beach erosion and damage to docks and piers.
Still, the Atlantic Seaboard was spared what could have been much worse damage had Hurricane Joaquin not continued on a path well off the U.S. coast. And some people found ways to enjoy the wet weather Saturday.
Steven Capito spent the day surfing by the Ocean View Fishing Pier in Norfolk, Virginia, where two- to three-foot waves crashed ashore. Ordinarily, he said waves from the Chesapeake Bay would barely lap his ankles.
“It’s kind of a fun novelty to be out here in the bay,” said Capito, who lives in Virginia Beach. “You only get to do it a couple of times a year and it’s nice and warm.”
Associated Press
