NEW HANOVER UPDATES: President Trump calls Wilmington Mayor Saffo
President
Saffo said that Trump called to assure him that the federal government is watching the storm, and to open a line of communication if and when the Port City needs aid.
"I told him that we appreciate all the efforts at the federal level," Saffo said. "I'm sure that we're going to need some of their assistance when this thing is over. But he was very gracious, very concerned about what was happeneing here in the area. And I just told him that I appreciated his telephone call and that we'll be in touch."
"For us down here in
The call came at the end of a news conference at the
Volunteers inside of the state can dial 211 to be connected to the
"We appreciate the love and prayers and solidarity of our fellow Americans and North Carolinians," White said. "It's very humbling."
"Tonight around
Still said barrier islands and some inland areas can expect storm surge of up to 9 feet. Emergency officials, he noted, will have a limited ability to reach residents in distress over the next 72 hours.
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>>READ MORE: Click here for complete coverage of Hurricane Florence.
A few decide to ride out the storm on Wrightsville
Police Chief
"We don't know what (the conditions are) going to be and we're going to be very limited in what we can do once this storm hits to be able to save somebody. If you decide to stay and the storm is upon us, there's nobody to call," House said at a press conference Thursday morning.
While the storm has been downgraded to a Category 2, the threat of heavy rain and wind will keep the island closed until further notice. House noted that once the storm passes and conditions get better, officials will use a drone to survey the damage before allowing crews to cross the bridge and get to work.
Depending on the storm's severity, Duke Energy told House it could be up to two weeks before power gets restored to the island, depending how many poles need to be rebuilt.
That's why House and the rest of the town's staff are still encouraging people to leave, even as the storm inches closer to shore.
"We'll even give them a ride off the bridge," he said.
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Dogs, national media flood downtown streets
The canine siblings, led by their owners
Of the trio, 15-year-old
"She's been through her share of hurricanes," Clark said.
For the humans, evacuating wasn't really a high priority, especially as Florence gradually weakened over the past 24 hours. They don't live in a flood zone and, therefore, said they weren't too concerned about staying.
"I've lived here my whole life and I've been through a bunch of these," Clark said. "When it was a little bit stronger, we were a more concerned about it."
Like Clark and Connington, nearly every resident who walked the streets of downtown Thursday morning had a dog leash in hand. They were easily outnumbered by the army of national and international news media planting cameras in front of boarded up storefronts and the
Among the recognizable faces were NBC News'
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Emergency operations center open
County spokeswoman
Employees are working in 12-hour shifts out of the center.
"We have made room available for their families," Smith noted. "We're going to try to keep everyone fed and cool, and it's a challenge."
The county has also set up an information hotline for residents to call with non-emergency questions. County staff can be reached at 910-798-6800.
Smith said the majority of questions Thursday have been about road conditions and access to shelters. Thursday morning, the county announced it had made additional room for people at
"We stay very close to this room so we can know the concerns of the public," Smith said.
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More room at shelters
On Wednesday, officials said some of those shelters were at capacity, but in a statement early Thursday, county officials said they were "able to mobilize additional resources to accommodate the need for shelter space."
"Those seeking emergency shelter should bring their own blankets/pillows, prescription medications and other necessary items. No alcohol, illegal drugs, or weapons are permitted. There will be limited food service available for people seeking shelter," county officials said in a statement.
The county has opened a hotline for residents with questions about evacuations or shelters at (910)798-6800.
Shelters at capacity, more open
With inland and
The final buses from
These buses will go to
While the
Wednesday,
Pets will not be admitted at Noble, and Coudriet said the county cannot guarantee sustained power at that site.
Shelters at capacity in the county include
With Florence expected to knock out internet services in parts of the region, Spectrum and Charter are also taking pro-active measures to keep people connected.
The company has activated 5,100 wi-fi hotspots in areas expected to be affected by the Hurricane Florence, including
All users can access the hotspots free of charge, the locations of which can be found at www.spectrum.com/wifi-hotspots. To connect your device, look for the "SpectrumWiFi" network under your device's WiFi settings.
Charter has also made the wi-fi hotspots available in
To see a list of county shelters, click here.
>>READ MORE: Click here for complete coverage of Hurricane Florence.
Getting back onto
PLEASURE ISLAND -- Hurricane Florence hasn't even arrived yet, but local officials are already letting evacuated residents know the re-entry protocol after it moves on.
Readmittance to
For those residents who do not have those items, they can be obtained at the
Anyone with questions is asked to contact Town Hall at 910-458-2999.
Emergency preparations
"That's what our staff and our experts have indicated is necessary," said
"The idea is that they will have access to food and water during the most critical time after the storm," he said.
The
"This is expected to be a devastating storm," said
Mills said the bases will be available to provide supplies, including fuel, generators, water, food and cots, at the request of the state government. He said
White said a significant number of the county's residents "have listened" to both voluntary and mandatory evacuations.
"The storm is going to be pretty bad; a lot of damage. People are going to be hurt," he said. "It's going to be tough. But we know that we are as prepared as you can possibly be for what Mother Nature has in store."
Flights cancelled
Several flights have been cancelled coming into and departing from
Broughton said
After that, "they will have nothing else in or out" during the duration of Hurricane Florence, Broughton said. The airlines have indicated they may resume service Saturday, he said.
Delta, which has its last scheduled flight of Wednesday at
Additionally, the airport's rental car companies are offering one-way rentals Wednesday, he said.
Once the airlines have all decided their time to shut down, the airport will "start tying down jet bridges and sealing doors," he said. Broughton said the airport wants to make sure its runways and taxiways can be open to accommodate flights carrying emergency supplies even if the terminal remains closed.
The shelter at
Like other evacuation centers in the county, the center at
Officials added that evacuees should be prepared to relocate out of the county if the storm situation requires it.
Florence, under the latest forecast, is expected to dump more than 20 inches of rain on parts of
Residents of
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