Florence mightin-gale

Carolinas brace for monster storm

More than 1 million residents were ordered to evacuate their coastal homes on Monday as Hurricane Florence, now a Category 4 monster, barreled toward the East Coast with the Carolinas dead in its sights.

“We are in the bull’s-eye,” warned North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper. “Let me be clear: North Carolina is taking Hurricane Florence seriously, and you should, too.”

North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia have already declared states of emergency ahead of Florence’s potentially catastrophic arrival on Thursday or Friday.

About 250,000 North Carolinians have begun a mandatory exodus, while roughly 1 million South Carolina residents were ordered to evacuate.

“We do not want to risk one South Carolina life in this hurricane,” Gov. Henry McMaster said at his own briefing.

Hurricane-preparedness staples — food, bottled water, batteries, gasoline cans and plywood — flew off store shelves as region residents braced for Florence, which had sustained winds howling at 130 mph, ac- cording to the National Hurricane Center.

Many North Carolina schools canceled classes for the week by early Monday as the state braced for just its second brush with a Category 4 storm since record-keeping began in the 1800s. The other was 1954’s Hazel, which killed 95 US residents.

Even the Navy was steeling for impact, with the US Fleet Forces Command ordering nearly 30 ships moored in the area to sail to the open Atlantic.

President Trump was forced to cancel a rally scheduled for Friday in Mississippi as Florence bore down.

“The Storms in the Atlantic are very dangerous. We encourage anyone in the path of these storms to prepare themselves and to heed the warnings of State and Local officials,” he tweeted. “The Federal Government is closely monitoring and ready to assist. We are with you!”