Hurricane Florence nears coast: 'This is a life-threatening situation'
WILMINGTON, N.C. – The first hurricane-force winds from Florence were on course to slap the coastal areas around Wilmington late Thursday as the massive storm, threatening torrential rains, inland flooding and deadly storm surges, lumbered toward the mainland.
Storm surges, driven by the hurricane's outer winds, beat the rain to some areas of North Carolina, where water rushed like rivers along streets on the Outer Banks. A short distance inland, downtown New Bern was flooding, and the city's Union Point Park at the confluence of the Neuse and the Trent rivers was underwater.
Florence diminished to Category 2 strength but will remain powerful enough to sock the Carolinas with brutal wind, rain and storm surge. Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Brock Long urged people in mandatory evacuation areas to get out. And he warned that the storm cleanup will take time and patience.
"We call them disasters because they break things," FEMA associate director Jeff Byard said. "The infrastructure is going to break."
The storm was about 100 miles east-southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, and 155 miles east of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, as of 5 p.m. EDT. Hurricane-force winds extended almost 80 miles from the center, and Florence was poised to bring havoc well before making landfall.
That could happen sometime Friday, probably somewhere near Wilmington.
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"I was just briefed on Hurricane Florence," President Donald Trump tweeted. "FEMA, First Responders and Law Enforcement are supplied and ready. We are with you!"
More than 1 million people were evacuated from coastal areas, and 10 million live within areas of hurricane or tropical storm warnings and watches. Storm surges of up to 13 feet will be "life-threatening" and rainfall of up to 40 inches will mean "catastrophic" flooding, the National Hurricane Center said.
"Do not focus on the wind speed category of #Hurricane #Florence!" the hurricane center tweeted. "Life-threatening storm surge flooding, catastrophic flash flooding and prolonged significant river flooding are still expected."
Barry Freed of Greensboro, North Carolina, booked an AirBnB condo here just so he can cross off hurricane survival on his "bucket list." With little more than soda and snacks, Freed admitted he might be unprepared.
“I kind of thought of this impulsively,” Freed said. “It’s kind of a stupid idea.”
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In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster said more than 300,000 people had fled the storm. The Coast Guard shut down the Port of Charleston and warned people off the water.
The governor told reporters Thursday that up to 7 inches of rain in the state’s northwestern mountains could mean landslides and dangerous conditions.
He also warned residents of evacuation zones to leave now to avoid getting caught on the roads when the winds strike. "Time is running out," McMaster said.
Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune urged residents to leave – and to help neighbors, especially the elderly. Don and Lydia Stauder, however, spent Thursday morning taking selfies on the beach to assure relatives up north that things weren't too bad.
Now retired, the couple had no qualms about staying put for Florence.
"We've got generators and live way above the flood level," Don Stauder said. "We're prepared for it."
Just north of Columbia, South Carolina, Ray Stickley was sitting in one of the state's 35 hurricane shelters and pondering a move to Pennsylvania. He said he stayed when Hurricane Matthew hit two years ago, and his entire trailer shook.
“With this coming, I am not going to take any chances," Stickley said. "I’m 50 miles inland and I’m scared of this storm."
Maximum sustained winds, once as high as 140 mph, decreased Thursday to 105 mph. But Florence was forecast to linger along the coast for a day more, sweeping away trees and power lines. Duke Energy said up to 75 percent of its 4 million customers in the two states could lose power.
Duke said 20,000 people will be in place to "attack restoration" as soon as it’s safe.
"We want to continue to send the message that this monster of a storm is not one to ride out," North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said.
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