The outer bands of Hurricane Florence are beginning to lash the North Carolina coast as the storm edges closer to the eastern United States. The storm is expected to linger, dumping several centimeters of rain in affected areas and causing widespread destruction.
Even though Florence has weakened to a Category Two system with winds of 175 kilometers per hour, weather forecasters warn that its size, along with life-threatening storm surge flooding, catastrophic flash flooding and prolonged significant river flooding, can be expected.
Florence is currently moving to the northwest at 20 kilometers per hour. The forecasters say the slow speed will give Florence time to pound the Carolinas with bands of heavy rain. The forecast track has the storm moving slowly along the coast throughout Friday and into Saturday.
Forecasters say surges up to 4 meters could inundate Cape Fear, North Carolina to Cape Lookout, North Carolina, with smaller surges ranging from half a meter to 3 meters in coastal areas from Edisto Beach, South Carolina to coastal areas extending north into North Carolina.
Leaders of the states in the path of the storm have warned people all week to evacuate the most susceptible areas. The governors of North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia declared emergencies to help speed up government aid efforts.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that protecting lives is his "absolute highest priority."
He said. "We're fully prepared. Food, medical, everything you can imagine, we are ready."