Mass evacuation in US as ‘monster’ hurricane looms
HURRICANE Florence is expected to strengthen into a near-Category 5 storm as it approaches the US, where 1.7 million people have been warned to get out of the way.
The storm taking aim at the Carolinas is likely to bring “life-threatening, catastrophic flash flooding and significant river flooding” when it sweeps in today and tomorrow, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.
President Donald Trump has declared states of emergency for North and South Carolina and Virginia, saying the US government is “absolutely, totally prepared” for Florence.
At 2am local time yesterday the “monster” storm was centred 625 miles south east of Cape Fear, North Carolina, moving at 17mph.
The National Hurricane Centre said it was a potentially catastrophic Category 4 storm, but was expected to keep drawing energy from the warm water and intensify to near Category 5, which means winds of 157mph or higher.
The coastal surge from Florence could leave the eastern tip of North Carolina under more than 9ft of water in spots, projections showed.
The hurricane is forecast to dump 1ft to 2ft 6in of rain that could cause flooding well inland and wreak environmental havoc by washing over industrial waste sites and farms.
Motorists were streaming inland on highways converted to one-way evacuation routes after forecasters and politicians pleaded with the public to take the warnings seriously.
“This storm is a monster. It’s big and it’s vicious. It is an extremely dangerous, life-threatening, historic hurricane,” North Carolina governor Roy Cooper said.
He added: “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.”
More than 5.4 million people live in areas under hurricane warnings or watches on the US East Coast, according to the NWS, and another four million were under a tropical storm watch.
North and South Carolina and Virginia ordered mass evacuations along the coast, but getting out of harm’s way could prove difficult.
Florence is so wide that a lifethreatening storm surge was being pushed 300 miles ahead of its eye, and so wet that a swathe from South Carolina to Ohio and Pennsylvania could get deluged.
People rushed to buy bottled water and other supplies, board up their homes, pull their boats out of the water and get out of town.
A line of heavy traffic moved away from the coast on Interstate 40, the main route between the port city of Wilmington, North Carolina, and inland Raleigh. Long queues formed at service stations and some started running out of fuel.
“This one really scares me,” National Hurricane Centre director Ken Graham said.