More flooding in store overnight
We are winding down this liveblog for the evening, and here is what we know right now.
- The storm continues its slow churn inland at 3mph, with maximum sustained winds now down below 45mph.
- With some areas having already set rainfall records of more than 30in, Florence is expected to drop an additional 15in to 20in of rain over southern and central portions of North Carolina and into far north-east South Carolina.
- Officials expect this rainfall will continue to produce catastrophic flash flooding and prolonged significant river flooding.
- In North Carolina, transit officials are telling people not to travel the roads for any reason, as any non-emergency traffic is not only hazardous but can hamper relief efforts.
- The storm has claimed six confirmed lives, five in North Carolina and another in South Carolina.
In Lumberton, North Carolina, the Lumber River is dangerously close to flooding.
Officials say the river is currently at 14.45ft and is projected to rise another 10 feet tomorrow.
I just drove across a small bridge on Caton Road over the river, which is flowing fast and at this location - south west of Lumberton, it has already broken its banks.
The Lumber River. This is on the Caton Road bridge, about five miles southwest of Lumberton. The river is flowing fast and about 3ft from the bottom of the bridge... NWS say it will rise 10ft by tomorrow pic.twitter.com/ljr1WDqmZJ
— Adam Gabbatt (@adamgabbatt) September 15, 2018
I-95, the main north-south thoroughfare here, crosses the Lumber about a mile north of where I am and if it continues rising - which the National Weather Service expects it to - it will flood the highway at some point tomorrow.
The Lumber is considered in flood stage at 13ft - so we’re already past that.
The rain is still battering down here and power lines and trees have been downed either side of the Lumber - on the road on the south side of the river close to Caton Road lines are hanging about 8ft above the street.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation says “almost all of NC will be subject to flooding” as road conditions “deteriorate over the next few days”.
Agency secretary Jim Trogdon added: “We are asking out of state travelers to avoid driving through NC. I have never see flash flooding like this in our state.”
.@NCDOT_Trogdon: Road conditions across nearly all of our state will deteriorate over the next few days. Almost all of NC will be subject to flooding. Flash floods this morning began closing major routes. It has been increasingly difficult to find bypass routes. #FlorenceNC
— NC Emergency Managem (@NCEmergency) September 15, 2018
.@NCDOT_Trogdon: We are asking out of state travelers to avoid driving through NC. I have never see flash flooding like this in our state. It is making it difficult for us to move valuable resources to areas in need. #FlorenceNC
— NC Emergency Managem (@NCEmergency) September 15, 2018
Updated
According to the South Carolina Office of Emergency Management, Hurricane Florence has claimed its 6th victim. A 61-year-old woman died in Union County when her car hit a tree that fell in Hurricane Florence, according to South Carolina Office of Emergency Management spokesman Antonio Diggs.
This is the first death reported in South Carolina linked to the storm. Five people have died in North Carolina.
Heavy rain bands are sweeping the Carolinas and forecasters say the potential for flash flooding from now through Sunday morning is extremely high over much of the region.
A reminder on the impacts we expect from flooding now that the steadier rain has started to move back in.
— Tim Buckley (@TimBuckleyWX) September 15, 2018
Flooding threat gets higher heading into Sunday.
Please be safe! pic.twitter.com/s3JYbebW5V
I-95 is the nation’s busiest highway, end to end. It serves over 110 million people and according to the I-95 Corridor Coalition, the road facilitates 40 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Florence has rendered several stretches impassible, and according to authorities that could remain the case through the end of the weekend.
HEADS UP— I-95 Travel not advised, AND CLOSED in spots near Dunn & Fayetteville, North Carolina. #Florence pic.twitter.com/r282M6jMEs
— Tevin Wooten (@TevinWooten) September 15, 2018
Sections which are currently alright are also likely to flood as rainfall continues and rivers swell in the coming days.
We just got a current reading from Lumber River at Lumberton of 14.45ft - the river is now in Minor Flooding stage and rising. It is forecasted to rise to around 24 ft tomorrow afternoon, at which point I-95 would flood between exits 17 and 19. pic.twitter.com/JiUu4Bf0cE
— NWS Wilmington NC (@NWSWilmingtonNC) September 15, 2018
Updated
Khushbu Shah is back in Rice’s Creek, the tiny community in North Carolina that she visited earlier this week, as the storm approached:
Rice’s Creek is up 15ft since Wednesday, Alex Tatum thinks, standing where his girlfriend Mandi Dreeland stood just days before.
Only the tip of the sign is poking out from the water and in a few hours, it may be completely submerged. The rain hasn’t let up for the better part of three days, with huge log jams of water across all of the yards.
Their double-wide trailer has held up for the most part. Creating a fort with four couches, Dreeland spent the last 24 hours without power, going through the yoohoo supply and five packs of Marlboro menthol blacks. It’s pitch black in the home, but dry. Three coolers full of beers, Dr Pepper and Mountain Dew line the wall.
“Tim Buck and his family just left,” Nicole Tatum, 49, tells her son as she walks over to his house from hers, in flip flops and mascara, under the deluge of rain. She whips out a picture of an alligator on the bottom of the steps to the entrance to Tim’s backyard. The water has reached one of his buildings. She has come over to tell Tatum and Dreeland she will cook a meal, with her generator running.
“I’ve packed up all of our papers, computers, jewelry, pictures, letters from my mom, to keep them off the ground in case it starts flooding,” Alex’s mother says.
Tatum’s stepdad, Chris Hamrick, lists off all the food they’ll put on the grill later: pork chops, chicken, baked potato and corn.
“The power went out at 5.38am,” he says. “I know ’cause I got up to pee.”
“You’re gonna get real wet,” Raymond Hill says, watching from his porch.
The remaining hurricane watch group put on rain boots and coats to head to Hamrick’s dad’s house – his father, who has one leg, left on Thursday morning – and fire up the generator. Tatum’s mom stands over the stove, cooking bacon and eggs. All the while, the rain continues its steady onslaught over the “town” of Rice’s Creek.
Updated
Our Adam Gabbatt has this update from coastal South Carolina. Him and Oliver Laughland are on their way inland now where Florence continues to mete out punishing rains:
In Conway, eight miles north of Myrtle Beach, the smaller creeks which run into the Waccamaw were already swollen and had broken their banks in some areas.
By Saturday morning a normally tranquil stream known as Crab Tree swamp was flowing fast and was just a foot from engulfing a bridge which provides north-south access to Conway.
David Hudson, a 29-year-old road construction worker who lives in Conway, had stopped his car on the bridge to film the water flow.
“I’m surprised this is that high,” Hudson said. “There’s usually walking trails down here. They’re underwater now.”
Hudson wasn’t overly concerned about his own home, which he said is 12ft above the flood plain. But having lived in this area a long time, he predicted the flooding would worsen over the coming days.
“In about four days when all the water comes down from North Carolina, that’s when we’re going to have a problem,” Hudson said.
Crab Tree swamp had already flooded the woodland either side of its water flow, and a number of houses and buildings seemed vulnerable if the rain continues.
In downtown Myrtle Beach branches from palm trees lined the main street, while on the waterfront the wind was blowing hard along the sand, whipping it up into the air.
The water was a heavy, foaming swell, crashing against the columns of the deserted Second Ave Pier. Few people had ventured out – most heading warnings from officials to stay inside – but Aaron Lucas, a 38-year-old photographer and Uber driver, was standing on the beach with his camera.
“You want to see what’s going on, what all the fuss about,” Lucas said. “There’s nothing like staring down mother nature.”
Lucas, who lives three blocks from the beach, has not evacuated due to fears about being allowed back into the city.
“I’ve evacuated before and that was one of the worst things I ever did. Because coming back in can be a nightmare. It drains your funds, your energy,” Lucas said.
Updated
Accoring to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Florence “still hasn’t moved much”.
The view from #GOESEast shows #Florence still hasn't moved much as the storm slowly slogs inland. Parts of North Carolina have already picked up 20-30 inches of rain, with more on the way. More info: https://t.co/L9AEmb5sG9 #TropicalStormFlorence pic.twitter.com/pYJKeZ1mwG
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) September 15, 2018
Rivers all over the region are expected to swell by frankly incredible amounts as inland rainfall eventually drains out to the sea, a process which could extend well into next week.
The Great Pee Dee River at Cheraw, South Carolina is forecast to rise by nearly 440% from it’s 8.8 foot depth at landfall to 47.5 ft on Wednesday.
Major river flooding expected on the Great Pee Dee River at Cheraw. River expected to reach flood stage late tonight/early Sunday morning and crest Tuesday/Wednesday. Forecast crest could be highest level there since 1945. #caewx #scwx #Florence pic.twitter.com/H79MFHdnLn
— NWS Columbia (@NWSColumbia) September 15, 2018
The Little River at Manchester, North Carolina is forecast to break it’s record flood level of 32.19 ft by an additional three feet by tomorrow.
Just one example: The Little River at Manchester, NC gauge was installed in 1938.
— Jesse Ferrell (@Accu_Jesse) September 15, 2018
Up until 2016, it had never been over 29 feet. Then Hurricane Matthew pushed it up to 32.19 feet.
With #Florence, flooding is expected to be 3 feet ABOVE Matthew's level for THREE DAYS. pic.twitter.com/iI3XZMl3W9
There are at least 28 river gauges in the Carolinas (some measure the same river in different places) expecting flood stage water levels in the coming days.
Rescue teams in Jacksonville, North Carolina are using dinghys to navigate otherwise impassible stretches of highway.
Rescue teams on Piney Green Road. Jacksonville, NC pic.twitter.com/ctQVwlSvj9
— Simone Perez (@simoneMperez) September 15, 2018
NC Gov warns of 'epic' inland flooding
North Carolina governor Roy Cooper warned in a Saturday morning press conference that: “areas that never experienced flooding before may experience it now.”
“Avoid complacency,” Cooper said. “Even though the storm has been downgraded, the rainfall will still be epic.”
Cooper added:
The flood danger from the storm is more immediate today than when it made landfall 24 hours ago. We face walls of water. More people now face a threat than when the storm was offshore. Flood waters are rising and if you aren’t watching for them, you are risking life.”
Cooper said that beyond the five confirmed deaths due to the storm in the state, “more are being investigated”.
.@NC_Governor Cooper: Don't go out, especially in SE NC. You may put yourself at risk or impede rescue efforts. Use common sense and be safe. The ReadyNC app is a helpful resource. Call 211 for non emergency storm needs. #ncwx #FlorenceNC #HurricaneFlorence
— NC Emergency Managem (@NCEmergency) September 15, 2018
Khushbu Shah is in Wilmington, North Carolina, near to where Florence made landfall on Friday. Saturday morning with the wind and rain subdued, she captured some of the aftermath.
In 2016 Hurricane Matthew unleashed a torrent of rain over North Carolina, flooding the Pugh family out of their 2 centuries-old home. A total loss.
Last month, the Pughs finally moved into a new home they’d built on the same piece of land. They were barely settled in when Hurricane Florence took aim at the North Carolina coast.
“We’re still trying to recover,” Pugh said Thursday as he worked to secure a grill and other loose items in a shed before the storm hit. “Going on two years and here comes another hurricane.”
Read more from HuffPost on the town of Fair Bluff where dozens of houses remain abandoned from the damage of Matthew, and how people there are dealing with Florence.
South Carolina Highway Patrol says it has responded to more than 100 reports of trees down overnight.
We are continuing to urge people not to be out there just driving around. Rain continues to fall and saturate the ground. We’ve responded to over 100 trees down overnight. Working with SCDOT to clear roadways as we get the calls. #Florence 🌀🚔👷♂️@SCEMD
— Trooper Bob (@TrooperBob_SCHP) September 15, 2018
Rainfall totals in Swansboro, North Carolina have hit a record setting 30.58 inches thus far, with rain likely to continue through Tuesday.
The previous record for rainfall from a tropical system was 24.06 inches from Hurricane Floyd in 1999.
The preliminary measurements are subject to revision, but it’s a pretty safe bet at this point that Florence will outpace that amount by a significant margin.
We’re there for the NC tropical cyclone rainfall record. And both mornings the rain gage was “full” at this CoCoRAHS site despite checking it more than once. pic.twitter.com/39yLGRv0vV
— David Roth (@DRmetwatch) September 15, 2018
Looks like rain, deer.
Heard of deer swimming in flood water in Jacksonville,NC! This is real, we have video if it too on @weatherchannel !!!!! pic.twitter.com/0BsKW3w6Jn
— Stephanie Abrams (@StephanieAbrams) September 15, 2018
Updated
Florence tracks inland
Welcome to our continuing live coverage of Hurricane Florence, the tropical system which has been battering the Carolinas since Wednesday night and is expected to deluge inland areas for the next several days with historic amounts of rainfall.
Here’s what we know as of Saturday morning:
- Florence was downgraded to a tropical storm on Friday night, but there were still sustained winds of 70mph, and forecasters say those conditions could remain for days.
- The storm has officially claimed five lives, all in North Carolina, which took the brunt of the landfall. Victims include a mother and infant killed when a tree collapsed on their house, a woman who died of a heart attack and a man who was electrocuted.
- The storm continued a slow, west-south-west direction over the eastern part of South Carolina overnight.
- “Life-threatening storm surges and strong winds” are still expected.
- Officials have warned that up to 50in of rain could lead to catastrophic flooding into next week.
- Residents of western North Carolina have been warned they could see flooding and landslides from Saturday night through to Monday.
- There were more than 800,000 power outages reported in North Carolina as of Saturday at 9am.
- White House officials said Donald Trump would be visiting areas affected by Florence sometime next week.
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