CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. _ The warnings were stark: Time's running out.
With Hurricane Florence bearing down on the Carolinas, state and federal authorities Wednesday sharpened the urgency of appeals to the public to obey evacuation orders, secure homes and stock up on necessary supplies.
Projections indicated the monster storm would make landfall by early Saturday, with a trajectory _ still subject to some "wobble" _ putting the coastline near the North and South Carolina border in the center of the bull's-eye.
Florence, expected to be one of the most powerful storms to strike the area in a generation, is predicted to have devastating effects over a wide swath of territory, bringing howling winds and torrential downpours across an arc bending from Georgia to Virginia.
With a heightened hazard now projected for his state, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal issued an emergency declaration Wednesday. In neighboring North Carolina, where coastal residents have sometimes taken pride in riding out storms, Gov. Roy Cooper implored people in areas at risk to flee while they still could.
"The time to prepare is almost over," Cooper warned at a briefing Wednesday. "Disaster is at the doorstep."
With train service and flights already curtailed, the exodus from the coast clogged highways and filled motels and hotels further inland. Shoppers depleted store shelves of basics such as bottled water, diapers and batteries, and motorists searched for available gas.
"Move to safety if your home is at risk," Cooper urged, noting that the coastal storm surge could be higher than many structures. "No possession is worth your life."
Once the storm arrives, forecasters say, it might linger for days, dumping relentless rains in a manner reminiscent of last year's Hurricane Harvey, which ravaged Houston as it inundated already soaked ground, flooding zones previously considered safe from rising waters.
Officials warned that Florence could leave tens of thousands without power for days on end, or they could find themselves cut off by raging floodwaters.
"This may be a marathon, not a sprint," said Cooper. "Expect this storm to batter our state for days."
President Donald Trump, his leadership tested by last year's hurricane season, expressed confidence that government preparations were on track, and urged people to take all precautions.
But in a familiar pattern, the president also appeared eager to re-litigate his administration's much-criticized response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.
Trump tweeted earlier Wednesday that his administration had done an "unappreciated great job" with rescue and recovery efforts in the U.S. territory, and he slammed as "incompetent" San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, who had lambasted the federal response. She fired back on Twitter by citing a recent research estimate of additional post-storm deaths, and saying if the president considered 3,000 fatalities to be a success, "God help us all."
By mid-afternoon Wednesday, Florence was 435 miles southeast of Wilmington, N.C., with winds of 125 mph. At least 1.7 million people in three states _ North and South Carolina, along with Virginia _ were told to leave coastal areas. In all, at least 5.4 million people live in areas covered by storm watches and warnings.
As the storm approached, the U.S. military sent ships out to sea and repositioned aircraft away from areas expected to be hardest hit. Major military installations, including the Marine base of Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, evacuated nonessential personnel and families.
Military officials also readied troops to assist as needed. North Carolina activated 2,800 members of its state National Guard.
Authorities were also mindful of potential contaminants to floodwaters, including hog-manure holding ponds and coal-ash pits. Officials scrambled to secure 16 nuclear reactors in three states.
Florence was not the only seaborne menace; two other tropical systems are moving over the Atlantic. Tropical Storm Isaac was moving on a path south of Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Cuba, while a weakening Hurricane Helene was heading north, on a track that did not take it near land.
