‘Catastrophic’ flooding feared as Florence stalls
15 more inches of rain could drench Carolinas; nearly 1M lose power
WILMINGTON, N.C. – A weakened Florence slowed to a crawl over South Carolina on Saturday and was expected to pummel the area with powerful winds, storm surges and as much as 15 more inches of rain into the weekend before sliding inward and heading toward the Ohio Valley.
Since marching ashore Friday near Wilmington as a hurricane, Florence has claimed at least seven lives, caused widespread flooding and knocked out power to nearly 900,000 homes in the Carolinas, according to poweroutage.us.
Now, as a tropical storm, Florence is expected to dump an additional 10 to 15 inches of rain in parts of North and South Carolina; storm totals could reach 30 to 40 inches along the North Carolina coastal area south of Cape Hatteras.
On Saturday afternoon, the center of the storm was about 50 miles west of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with maximum sustained winds at 45 mph. It was moving at just 3 mph. The National Hurricane Center warned of “catastrophic flash flooding and prolonged significant river flooding.”
North Carolina’s Harnett County, south of Raleigh, declared a mandatory evacuation on Saturday along the Lower Little River, which is expected to rise to more than 17 feet above flood stage by Monday morning.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper called Florence an “uninvited brute” that could wipe out entire communities as it grinds its way across land.
In Washington, President Donald Trump issued a disaster declaration for North Carolina on Saturday that will make federal money available to people in the counties of Beaufort, Brunswick, Carteret, Craven, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico and Pender.
About 9,700 National Guard troops and civilians have been deployed with high-water vehicles, helicopters and boats. “The fact is this storm is deadly and we know we are days away from an ending,” Cooper said.
At least seven hurricane-related fatalities were reported as of Saturday afternoon. Among them: A mother and infant died after a tree fell on a house in Wilmington, according to local police. In Hampstead, downed trees prevented emergency crews from reaching a woman who suffered a heart attack.
Another person was killed while plugging in a generator and a man died when he was blown down trying to check on his hunting dogs in Lenoir County, north of Wilmington, local authorities said.
Throughout the Carolinas, the focus was plucking people from rising waters.
In eastern North Carolina alone, eight National Guard helicopters were in action Saturday to help with rescues.
Petty Officer Charlotte Fritts said helicopters were sent from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City to an area near Jacksonville, North Carolina, to rescue 13 people who were stranded in two cars. There were no injuries, he said.
In Newport, North Carolina, rescuers reached a flooded animal shelter after the Carteret County Humane Society put out a call for help on Facebook. The Cajun Navy, a group of volunteers in boats, brought two stranded shelter workers, 43 dogs, 80 cats and roughly 15 chickens to safety.
In Wilmington’s riverfront area, near where Florence made landfall Friday, the Cape Fear River poured over its banks, flooding most of parking lots, docks and roadways leading to Wrightsville Beach.
Trees fell on downtown streets, which also displayed broken storefront windows and damaged street signs. In a historic neighborhood outside of downtown, mature oaks and other treesfell onto gardens, gates, roofs and parked cars.
Near Carolina Beach, outside Wilmington, the most pressing issue Saturday morning was gasoline — not the shortage of fuel, but frequent power outages shutting down the pumps.
“We heard one pump at the back of the Shell station down there had gas, but as soon as we got there it had run out,” said Robert Thomas, who lives near Carolina Beach.