Florence’s large size – tropical storm force winds extend 170 miles from the center in all directions – means its fury will arrive long before the center of the storm comes ashore, Graham said.
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President Trump chimed in Wednesday, warning residents of afflicted areas to “be ready, be prepared!”
Higher sea levels to make a storm surge worse.
According to the National Hurricane Center, life-threatening storm surges up to 13 ft are expected along the Carolina coast and up to 40 in of rain could result in flash flooding throughout the Carolinas.
With the change in the forecast, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal issued an emergency declaration for the entire state to ease regulations on trucks hauling gasoline and relief supplies, and asked people to pray for those in Florence’s path. Elsewhere in the Appalachian and Mid-Atlantic states, three to six inches of rain are expected, with up to 12 inches in isolated areas, according to the NHC.
The storm may stall over SC and North Carolina, dump several feet of rain, and trigger widespread flooding.
“Do you want to get hit with a train or do you want to get hit with a cement truck?” said Jeff Byard, an administrator with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Florence is moving 16 miles per hour northwest with a maximum sustained wind of 120 miles per hour and the eye is expected to first land in southern North Carolina near the SC border.
Hundreds of thousands of people have evacuated their homes under mandatory evacuation orders from the governors of Virginia, North Carolina, and SC.
“Between the lines: Hurricane Florence could become the strongest hurricane on record to strike so far north if it makes landfall north of the border between SC and North Carolina as a Category 4 or 5 storm”.
“The weakening would be slower than if the hurricane moved fully inland”.
I know that North Carolinians are a hardy bunch and we’ve seen nor’easters and hurricanes before, but this one is different. Tornadoes are possible Thursday in eastern North Carolina.
“They told me to bring a pillow and blanket”, Whisler said. Officials say people refusing to evacuate could end up alone, drenched and in the dark, as rescue crews won’t go out to help in winds above 80 km/h.
Kevin Miller, a 50-year-old electrician, said he planned to ride out the storm at his home near Charleston.
“Been through it!” Belli said, referring to Hurricane Hugo, which caused widespread damage in SC in 1989.
“Nobody was fighting, just pushing and rushing to get water”, she wrote.
A number of other businesses, including Sam’s Club, Lowe’s, and a range of local retailers across North Carolina and SC, were shut down or were planning to shut down ahead of the storm.
“Disaster is at the doorstep and is coming in”, Cooper said. Duke Energy serves around 4 million people in North and SC. It urged residents to heed evacuation orders.
Florence is joined by Tropical Storm Isaac and Hurricane Helene in this snapshot taken Tuesday some 1 million miles away via NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) on the DSCOVR satellite.
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“Houses, property, everything was sucked out to sea”, Masson said, and inland didn’t fare much better.
