Florence Moves Toward the Carolinas

The storm, as of Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. EDT, has sustained maximum winds of 130 miles per hour, keeping it as a Category 4, and is still expected to be a major hurricane when it hits land.

Hurricane Florence, heading for the Carolinas, “will likely be the storm of a lifetime” for areas of the coast, according to the National Weather Service early Wednesday.

Mandatory evacuations have been ordered in parts of South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, affecting more than a million people.

Hurricane Florence, now a Category 4 storm, may strengthen to a Category 5 hurricane before weakening again on its approach toward the North or SC coastlines. But despite that, bad things can happen when you’re talking about a storm this size. “Don’t bet your life on riding out a monster”. Forecast models suggest that more than two feet of rain could fall over the higher elevations of the Carolinas and Virginia, which would generate risky flooding downstream. Gen. Van McCarty, Assistant Adjutant General for SC.

These are worrying times for the east coast of America.

The latest tracks for Category 4 storm Florence, released early Wednesday morning, now have the storm staying farther south, following the European model.

But NHC spokesman Dennis Feltgen stressed the effects of Florence would be widely felt. Hurricane-to-tropical-storm-force winds could extend inland, depending on the storm’s track.

Meteorologists have given Hurricane Florence, which is now heading towards the United States, a category four level strength, meaning the storm could cause major structural damage costing millions.

National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham warned that Florence is expected to linger once onshore, downing trees, knocking out electricity and causing widespread flooding. “It’s going to destroy homes”, said Jeff Byard, an official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

As for what this region could see from the storm, Cantore said it is still hard to pin down exactly what to expect.

While Florence hasn’t made landfall yet, FEMA wants Task Force One to be in position.

The storm strengthened from 130 miles per hour to 140 miles per hour and is Category 4, the NHC said.

Namely, the lions, tigers and giraffes at the Virginia Zoo, and the more than 100 dogs and cats at the SPCA shelter in northeastern North Carolina.

“We are sparing no expense”. He said the federal government is “absolutely, totally prepared” for Florence.

Trump faced severe criticism for his administration’s response to Hurricane Maria past year in Puerto Rico.

The storm forced people to cut their vacations short along the coast.

Days before its arrival, Florence was already disrupting commercial operations.

When asked in a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Sheriff P.J. Tanner said the school district must first evaluate how many teachers and staff evacuated ahead of the order.

TRT World’s Jay Gray reports from Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Some gasoline stations also ran low on fuel.

Not everyone was in a hurry to leave.

Approximately 2,000 South Carolina National Guard Soldiers and Airmen were activated and are now emplaced throughout the Palmetto state September 11, 2018 in preparation for landfall of Hurricane Florence.

“We could cover several states easily with the cloud cover alone”, Graham said.