Hurricane Florence made landfall in North Carolina early this morning, hitting the coast and bringing destruction with its Category 1 winds and heavy rains which threaten to cause floods in the area.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Florence hit North Carolina around 7:15 a.m. with winds of 90 mph and 3 inches of rain an hour, which pushed the storm inland, damaging the buildings there.
CNN writes that the hurricane may linger along coastal North and South Carolina for another day, endangering those people who have stayed behind. Although Florence has weakened, its winds are still life-threatening.
“In a matter of seconds, my house was flooded up to the waist, and now it is to the chest,” said Peggy Perry, who along with three relatives was trapped early Friday in her New Bern home. “We are stuck in the attic.”
People there were strongly advised to take shelter at the highest points of their homes, as the hurricane’s rains are expected to reach 40 inches in some parts of the Carolinas. When it hit on Friday morning, Florence had already cut power supply to almost 400,000 people in the Carolinas and canceled more than 1,300 flights along the East Coast.
In a Friday morning tweet, President Donald Trump thanked the federal emergency agency respondents. “Incredible job being done by FEMA, First Responders, Law Enforcement and all. Thank you!”
More than one million people had been ordered to evacuate before the hurricane pushed water onto the streets, flooding them. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper urged residents to seek shelter and stay alert.
“Don’t relax, don’t get complacent. Stay on guard. This is a powerful storm that can kill. Today the threat becomes a reality,” Cooper said, according to Fox News.
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