“Monster” Hurricane Florence aims to drench Carolinas
While some said they planned to stay put despite hurricane watches and warnings that include the homes of more than 5.4 million people on the
Steady streams of vehicles full of people and belongings flowed inland Tuesday as Gov.
"The waves and the wind this storm may bring is nothing like you've ever seen. Even if you've ridden out storms before, this one is different. Don't bet your life on riding out a monster," he said.
Forecasters said Florence was expected to blow ashore late Thursday or early Friday, then slow down and dump a torrential 1 to 2½ feet (0.3 to 0.6 meters) of rain. Flooding well inland could wreak environmental havoc by washing over industrial waste sites and hog farms. Up to a foot is predicted in places in the Appalachian mountains. "This rainfall would produce catastrophic flash flooding and significant river flooding," forecasters said Wednesday.
President
All three states ordered mass evacuations along the coast. But getting out of harm's way has proved difficult.
"This morning I drove around for an hour looking for gas in
Florence is so wide that a life-threatening storm surge was being pushed 300 miles (485 kilometers) ahead of its eye, and so wet that a swath from
People across the region rushed to buy bottled water and other supplies, board up their homes, pull their boats out of the water and get out of town.
Long lines formed at service stations, and some started running out of gas as far west as
"There's no water. There's no juices. There's no canned goods,"
People weren't the only ones evacuating. Eight dogs and 18 cats from a shelter in
At
Florence is the most dangerous of three tropical systems in the
The coastal surge from Florence could leave the eastern tip of
"This one really scares me,"
Federal officials begged residents to put together emergency kits and have a plan on where to go.
"This storm is going to knock out power days into weeks. It's going to destroy infrastructure. It's going to destroy homes," said
Forecasters said parts of
One trusted computer model, the European simulation, predicted more than 45 inches (115 centimeters) in parts of
Rain measured in feet is "looking likely," he said.
Florence's projected path includes half a dozen nuclear power plants, pits holding coal-ash and other industrial waste, and numerous hog farms that store animal waste in huge lagoons.
Duke Energy spokesman
"We've seen nor'easters and we've seen hurricanes before," Cooper said, "but this one is different."
Despite all that, 65-year-old
"Everyone who is staying here is either a real old-timer, someone who doesn't know where would be better, or someone involved in emergency operations one way or another," said Fox.
For the latest on Hurricane Florence, visit https://www.apnews.com/tag/Hurricanes .
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