Hurricane Florence: Dire Outlook As Millions Flee Along Coastline

RALEIGH, NC — More than a million people are fleeing coastal areas ahead of Hurricane Florence as the potentially catastrophic Category 4 storm takes aim at the East Coast. Mandatory evacuations have begun along the coastlines of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia with Florence expected to become the worst hurricane to hit the region in decades. Anxious residents have swarmed grocery stores and emptied shelves of food and water supplies, with many checkout lines stretching out the door.

Florence regained strength Tuesday, with winds returning to 140 mph. The storm remains "extremely dangerous" and could approach Category 5 strength before making landfall late Thursday or early Friday. The monster storm is currently churning about 785 miles east-southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina.

The hurricane will likely dump a "staggering" amount of rain on multiple states, National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham said in a Facebook Live video Monday. Much of North Carolina and Virginia, as well as parts of South Carolina could see as much as 15-20 inches of rain — even those several hundred miles inland. Isolated areas could see up to 30 inches through Saturday.

This is because the storm will likely see a Harvey-like effect in that it will seemingly "park" for days over the coast, pounding the region with rain and saturating the soil. Life-threatening flash flooding, as well as downed trees and power lines are expected.

Florence Becomes A Monster

The storm rapidly intensified over a period of several hours Monday. Winds at the beginning of the day sat around 75 mph. That quickly changed when Florence's winds ratcheted up to 140 mph by noon Monday. The hurricane has a pronounced eye and surrounding convections indicated it's a "pretty strong system," Graham said. There are also pronounced rain bands on the outskirts of the storm.

"That's where we see the system is really self-sustaining," said Graham. "And that's where you have a hurricane that continues to strengthen. It's what we call 'breathing,' so to speak. All the structure is absolutely perfect to continue as strong as it is."

Graham stressed that impacts will be felt far outside the cone from rainfall and strong winds. The storm is projected to move very slowly over the coast.

"That spells problems because the longer it waits, the more that it sits and the more rain we have," he said, adding that water kills 90 percent of people in tropical systems. "That's why we focus so much on it."

Graham warned of saturated soil, high winds, downed trees and power lines, and that's just inland. Dangerous, life-threatening storm surge will also affect the entire Virginia coast.

He warned of "staggering" amounts of rainfall.

"It all depends on where the landfall is and where it waits," said Graham, noting that large swaths of Virginia, South Carolina and North Carolina will likely get dumped on.

"Trailing rain bands could continue to pummel these areas even days after landfall, as well has high winds and heavy rain," he said. Graham warned that flash flooding will be a significant concern.

"If you think you're safe because you're away from the coast, that is not true," he said. "You could be 100 miles away from the coast, several hundred miles from the center and you could still get those dangerous rains that get flash flooding."

The storm continues to head west-northwest at about 15 mph, the hurricane center said Tuesday morning, and it's expected to pick up speed as it draws closer to the coast. The center of Florence will move over the southwestern Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda and the Bahamas through Wednesday, and approach the coast of North Carolina or South Carolina on Thursday. Those swells will probably bring dangerous surf and rip currents.

There is an "increasing risk" that the storm could bring life-threatening effects to the entire region, the center said. This includes coastal storm surge and flooding from prolonged heavy rainfall.

Officials have said Florence could make landfall as a Category 3 storm or higher with tropical storm force winds arriving as early as Wednesday evening. CNN reported that this would be the first Category 3 storm to strike the East Coast since 2004, when Jeanne smashed into Florida.

Evacuations Ordered

Local and state governments have shifted their focus to saving lives. Officials in North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Virginia all declared states of emergency to give residents ample time to prepare.

In North Carolina, seven counties have ordered mandatory evacuations.

"Hurricane Florence is currently projected to be a category 3 or 4 storm at landfall in southeastern North Carolina and may bring life-threatening storm surge to Dare County, along with tropical storm force winds, heavy rains and the potential for tornadoes. Even a small northward shift in the track of the storm could bring devastating impacts to our area," the Dare County Emergency Management wrote on its website.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper told news outlets that emergency responders are seasoned and ready. Two hundred National Guard troops have been activated and more are standing by.

In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster ordered evacuations along the state's entire coastline beginning at noon Tuesday. Five counties in the state are under mandatory evacuations, along with several in southern Virginia.

Schools and government offices in coastal counties of both North and South Carolina were ordered closed.

"We are preparing for the worst, and of course hoping for the best," South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said.

The Washington Post reported that more than 1.5 million people have been ordered to evacuate the coast.

Shelves Emptied

Residents are frantically trying to stock up before impact, flocking to stores in multiple states. Vital food and water supplies are flying off the shelves.

Stores in North Carolina and Virginia have seen worried customers swarm stores and empty their shelves. Water bottles at a Costco store in Cary reportedly sold out within 10 minutes of opening. Shelves were emptied of water bottles at a Walmart store near Clayton as well and generators were reportedly gone at a Lowes store in Richmond.

If you're in the Carolinas and don't have water for what could be a no-power, long weekend after the hurricane, you better go now. Shelves are emptying at stores, if they haven't already.
— Brad Crawford (@BCrawford247) September 10, 2018

And so it begins...no water at Walmart #florence #hurricane #nobottledwater #nowater #wheresjimcantore #goawayflorence #hurricaneflorence #eastcoastprepares #eastcoast #andsoitbegins pic.twitter.com/J6lzn0XCac
— michelle fargo (@mafargo) September 9, 2018

Travel Alerts Issued

Major airlines have already started making travel arrangements for impacted fliers. American Airlines, United Airlines, JetBlue and Southwest have all issued travel alerts for airports in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia, meaning passengers can switch their travel dates with no change fee.

Photo credit: NASA via AP