As predicted, Hurricane Florence weakened to a tropical storm Sunday but the stalling of the storm means that residents of North Carolina are facing record amounts of rain, major-riving flooding, and even tornadoes. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper warned residents during a midday news conference, "Flood waters are still raging across parts of our state, and the risk to life is rising with the angry waters." Gov. Cooper added that "this storm has never been more dangerous than it is right now" in some parts of North Carolina where they are getting 2 to 3 inches an hour.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Warnings of ‘catastrophic’ flash flooding as <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HurricaneFlorence?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HurricaneFlorence</a> makes landfall in the US state of North Carolina. <a href="https://t.co/UeWHHZYOdO">pic.twitter.com/UeWHHZYOdO</a></p>— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) <a href="https://twitter.com/AJEnglish/status/1041348484735983617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2018</a></blockquote>
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"That's enough to cause flooding in areas that have never flooded before until now," Cooper said. Ever since Friday morning when Hurricane Florence made landfall, the storm has been attributed with causing 16 deaths. Officials put that number at 17 dead including both states. The death toll rose on Sunday when a person was killed in a pickup crash near Gilbert, South Carolina. The motorist drove through the standing water on a roadway, according to the state's Department of Public Safety.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">CAT RESCUE: Rescues are underway in the Carolinas after <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HurricaneFlorence?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HurricaneFlorence</a> made landfall Friday. Two cats were rescued from the flooding in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Jacksonville?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Jacksonville</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NorthCarolina?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NorthCarolina</a>. Take a look: <a href="https://t.co/FAHIHYWbgZ">pic.twitter.com/FAHIHYWbgZ</a></p>— Central Coast News (@KCOY) <a href="https://twitter.com/KCOY/status/1040740439328993280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Even pets needed rescuing prompting local animal services to the rescue including one man, a 51-year-old trucker from Greenback, Tennessee, who hauled his giant yellow school bus to South Carolina and rescue stranded animals that had been left behind. Aside from animals, hundreds of people have been rescued by local emergency services including Cajun Navy volunteers and the U.S. Coast Guard who has been working on relief and rescue efforts since Friday morning.
Related coverage: <a href="http://thegoldwater.com/news/37257-Trucker-Drives-His-School-Bus-to-South-Carolina-to-Save-Dogs-Cats-from-Storm">Trucker Drives His School Bus to South Carolina to Save Dogs, Cats from Storm</a>
A mile-long area along the Cape Fear and Little Rivers in North Carolina were given new evacuation orders Sunday. Over 700,000 households and businesses in the state are still without power. At least 15,000 people are in shelters and 171 main roads were closed off including two interstates. State Highway authorities told people to stay off the roads, despite the warning, troopers responded to around 48 collisions Saturday night through Sunday morning. A tornado effect has even been issued for most of Sunday for areas of Wilmington, Fayetteville, Myrtle Beach, Jacksonville, Oak Island, and Florence.
The director of North Carolina Emergency Management Michael Strayberry said, "It's bad right now, and we do expect it to get worse over the coming days. We know that's going to be a major mission going forward because this is historic and unprecedented flooding."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WATCH: Video shows severe flooding in North Carolina, where <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HurricaneFlorence?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HurricaneFlorence</a> made landfall with howling 90 mph winds, terrifying storm surge <a href="https://t.co/92yVfE76wQ">https://t.co/92yVfE76wQ</a> <a href="https://t.co/tsNslp9YpJ">pic.twitter.com/tsNslp9YpJ</a></p>— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABC7/status/1040641383403413504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The storm has also seen looting since Friday morning landfall forced evacuations of many residences and businesses. Local news reporters caught groups of hooded individuals hitting stores like Dollar Tree and leaving with big black sacks of goods. The owners of the Dollar Tree stores are pressing charges, according to Assistant Police Chief Mitch Cunningham.
Related coverage: <a href="http://thegoldwater.com/news/37237-Multiple-People-Arrested-Looting-During-Hurricane-Florence-in-a-Disturbingly-Primitive-Nature">Multiple People Arrested Looting During Hurricane Florence in a Disturbingly Primitive Nature</a>
The floods in the Carolinas have been so much worse than anything in recent years, the National Weather Service said it even exceeded flooding 19 years ago during Hurricane Floyd. A waterway near the Cape Fear River rose 15 feet in just 24 hours over the weekend reaching flood stage in Fayetteville, North Carolina. That area received mandatory evacuation orders Saturday. the National Weather Service warned residents in a tweet Sunday, "This will be very dangerous flooding over the next few days."
Present Trump commented on the excellent job of FEMA, first responders, and law enforcement on Twitter Sunday. "FEMA, First Responders, and Law Enforcement are working really hard on hurricane Florence," President Trump tweeted. "As the storm begins to finally recede, they will kick into an even higher gear. Very Professional!"
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">FEMA, First Responders and Law Enforcement are working really hard on hurricane Florence. As the storm begins to finally recede, they will kick into an even higher gear. Very Professional!</p>— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1041358333146525698?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Schultz said on "This Week", "My biggest concern is the rising water. We're looking at a high water situation. The rivers could potentially crest here into the early part of this week. So, we have not seen the worst of the flooding." Shultz was one of the emergency officials who briefed president Trump on the situation.
"We talked about the massive risk the storm poses, catastrophic flooding, prolonged flooding," Shultz said of the briefing. "We gave him an update on response capabilities in the theater and the president is completely leaning in. Anything the feds need to do to support the local, the state partners here in South Carolina and North Carolina. We feel fully supported."
As of 11 p.m. Saturday, rain totals saw over 30 inches in Swansboro, North Carolina, and at least 25 inches in Newport and Morehead City. Hurricane Florence became the sixth-highest tropical cyclone rainfall record holder across the United States. Flash floods are also still a risk all over the south to the central Appalachians from western North Carolina into both western and eastern Virginias.
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Source: https://abcnews.go.com/US/major-river-flooding-threat-posed-florence-heavy-rain/story?id=57857204
Twitter: #Hurricane #Florence #Looting #NorthCarolina #SouthCarolina #Trump #FEMA #CoastGuard
Sorry not buying the way "Historic" is being implied. This is Wilmington NC.
it has been struck by Hurricanes many time before.
eg.
There have been Rainfalls in Wilmington of 8+ inches before, just look up Hurricane Hazel (1954) as an example.
Look up Hurricane Donna.
I was in NC for Hurricane Fran 1996 and was driving behind it on I-95 in to RTP. I was a mess.
Hurricane Bonnie 1998 - Wilmington winds 74+ mph at the airport and 9.04 inches of rain fell.
Hurricane Floyd (1999) killed 35 in just North Carolina alone.
The USGS stated that Floyd's flooding was a 500 year event.
Hurricanes are common in this area and there have been 10-12 hurricanes hit the area in the last 60 years