As 400-mile-wide Florence pounded away at the coast with torrential downpours and surging seas, rescue crews used boats to reach more than 360 people besieged by rising waters in New Bern, while many of their neighbors awaited help. More than 60 people had to be rescued in another town as a cinderblock motel collapsed at the height of the storm's fury.</s>Emergency officials on Wednesday urged millions of residents along the southeastern U.S. coast to finish preparations ahead of Hurricane Florence, which is expected to unleash damaging winds and life-threatening amounts of rain when it makes landfall this week.

Florence was at last report a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometers (121 miles) per hour. Although it weakened slightly Wednesday afternoon, forecasters do not expect Florence’s strength to change much before it comes ashore near the North Carolina-South Carolina border.

The massive system was about 700 kilometers (435 miles) southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina. The National Hurricane Center said Florence was “forecast to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it nears the U.S. coast late Thursday and Friday.”

“This is not going to be a glancing blow,” the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Jeff Byard said in Washington.

The governors of the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland and Georgia all declared states of emergency.

Byard again urged residents in danger zones to heed warnings to either evacuate or hunker down. “There will be disruptions in our services,” he said. “The power will go off. Infrastructure will be damaged. Homes will be damaged or destroyed. So, again, the time to act is now.”

There was particular concern about the storm lingering once it nears the coast and moves onshore, allowing it to dump torrential amounts of rain in parts of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. That happened last year when Hurricane Harvey dumped more than 150 centimeters (60 inches) of rain on the Houston, Texas, area.

Forecasters at the hurrican center warned that as much as 101 centimeters (40 inches) of rain could fall on some parts of North Carolina, with a storm surge of up to 4 meters (13 feet).

Along with the high winds and storm surge, forecasters are very concerned that Florence could be a slow-moving storm. It could linger along the Atlantic Coast, dumping massive amounts of rain before drifting inland and bringing its heavy rainfall across the South and into the Mid-Atlantic states by early next week.

President Donald Trump said his administration was “as ready as anybody has ever been” to respond to the storm.

“We’ll handle it. We’re ready. We’re able,” Trump said Wednesday outside the White House. “We’re fully prepared. Food, medical, everything you can imagine, we are ready.”

The president signed federal emergency declarations for the Carolinas and Virginia, a move that freed up federal money and resources. He also urged residents who live in the path of the storm to “get out of its way. Don’t play games with it. It’s a big one.”

More than 1 million people along the coasts of North and South Carolina and southern Virginia have fled. They have faced gas shortages at some stations, while those who have chosen to stay put are clearing store shelves of emergency supplies.

Experts said this could be the strongest storm to hit the Carolina coast in more than 60 years.

The most powerful and only Category 4 hurricane in recorded history to hit the North Carolina coast was Hurricane Hazel in October 1954. Nineteen people in North Carolina were killed, and 15,000 homes were destroyed.</s>At least four people, including a mother and her infant, have died in North Carolina as Hurricane Florence slowly moves through the Carolinas, officials said Friday.

Two people died in Wilmington after a tree fell on their house, the city’s police department said.

“WPD can confirm the first two fatalities of Hurricane #Florence in Wilmington. A mother and infant were killed when a tree fell on their house,” police tweeted Friday afternoon. “The father was transported to (New Hanover Regional Medical Center) with injuries.”

The hospital said it has received three injured patients.

In the town of Hampstead, emergency responders going to a call for cardiac arrest Friday morning found their path blocked by downed trees. When they got to the home, the woman was deceased, Chad McEwen, assistant county manager for Pender County, said.

The fourth person who died was a man in Lenoir County who was plugging a cord into a generator, Gov. Roy Cooper’s office said.

Florence is inching along after making landfall hours earlier in North Carolina, trapping people in flooded homes and promising days of destruction and human suffering.

Storm surges, punishing winds and rain are turning some towns into rushing rivers — and the Category 1 hurricane is expected to crawl over parts of the Carolinas into the weekend, pounding some of the same areas over and over.

“The storm is going to continue its violent grind across our state for days,” Cooper warned residents at a news conference.

In the besieged city of New Bern, North Carolina, rescuers had plucked more than 200 people from rising waters by midmornin, but about 150 more had to wait as conditions worsened and a storm surge reached 10 feet, officials said.

By Friday morning, Florence already had:
• Sapped power to more than 620,000 customers in North and South Carolina, emergency officials said.
• Forced 26,000 people into more than 200 emergency shelters across the Carolinas.
• Pushed more than 60 people to evacuate from a hotel in Jacksonville, North Carolina, after part of the roof collapsed, city officials said.
• Prompted 4,000 National Guard soldiers and 40,000 electric workers to mobilize in response.
• Canceled more than 1,100 flights along the East Coast on Friday and Saturday.
• Florence’s location: By 3 p.m., Florence’s center was about 35 miles northeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and was crawling at 6 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.
• Prolonged, dangerous winds: Hurricane-force winds extend 70 miles from Florence’s center. The storm is expected to lumber into far southeastern North Carolina and eastern South Carolina through Saturday, punishing the area with rain and damaging winds.
• Flooding for miles: Up to 40 inches of rain, and storm surges pushing water inland and not allowing rivers to drain, “will produce catastrophic flash flooding and prolonged significant river flooding,” the National Hurricane Center says. “You’re going to have flooding miles and miles inland,” the center’s director, Ken Graham, said.
• Areas threatened: A hurricane warning is in place for South Santee River in South Carolina to Bogue Inlet and Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Surges of 10 feet were reported early Friday in Morehead City and elsewhere in North Carolina, the National Weather Service said.
• Record gusts: Wilmington’s airport recorded a 105-mph wind gust — the fastest measured since Hurricane Helene hit the city in 1958, the National Hurricane Center said.
• Nuclear plant shutdown: A nuclear power plant in Brunswick, North Carolina, shut down operations because of the storm, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission said on Twitter. “Plant procedures call for the reactors to be shut down before the anticipated onset of hurricane-force winds,” agency spokesman Joey Ledford told CNN. Federal officials had said midweek they weren’t concerned about that facility or five other nuclear plants in the storm’s path, calling them “hardened.” Expert scientists, however, had said they were worried about Brunswick because of scant public information about its readiness.

Florence’s rain will bring 40 inches to some parts of the Carolinas, forecasters said. Rainfall totals will be similar to those in hurricanes Dennis and Floyd in 1999, the National Weather Service’s Chris Wamsley said

“The only difference is, back then it was within 14 days,” he said. With Florence, “we’re looking at the same amount of rainfall in three days.”

More than 1 million people had been ordered to evacuate before the streets became inundated.

Florence’s circulation was pushing water ashore, especially north of its eye, in coastal or riverside towns such as New Bern and Belhaven, turning land to lakes.

In New Bern, where dozens awaited rescue Friday morning, Peggy Perry said rising water forced her into the upper level of her home.

“In a matter of seconds, my house was flooded up to the waist, and now it is to the chest,” said Perry, who was trapped early Friday with three relatives. “We are stuck in the attic.”

Swift-water rescue teams from out of state helped local rescuers evacuate people whenever conditions allowed. One team from Maryland helped with about 40 rescues in New Bern starting Thursday, member Mitchell Rusland said.

Craven County, where New Bern is located, had logged more than 100 service calls from residents trapped on their roofs or in their cars, county spokeswoman Amber Parker said.

In Belhaven, the Pungo River roared into town, crashing up against homes at a waist-high level and higher late Thursday and early Friday, video from Amy Johnson showed.

Morehead City resident Rebecca Marson said she decided not to evacuate because her surgeon husband wanted to remain behind with other first responders. They’re riding out the storm at their home with four children — ages 11 to 17 — a friend, four dogs, two chinchillas, a cat and a lizard.

Marson said they’d lost power and they have enough food and water to last for days.

Employees at New Bern’s WCTI-TV station fled their studio Thursday night due to rising floodwaters. A posting on social media showed a meteorologist saying on air they had to evacuate. In the footage, he leaves the studio, with radar of Florence’s rain bands playing on a loop.

Just west of downtown Wilmington, firefighters spent hours Friday morning and afternoon trying to rescue two adults and a child from a house after about a 30,000-pound tree fell on it, fire officials said.

Crews lifted the tree enough to get one injured man out, and were working to lift it completely to reach the two others, who weren’t communicating with rescuers, Wilmington fire official Patrick Campbell said.

Wilmington Fire Chief Buddy Martinette praised his firefighters, who by policy are supposed to stop operating when winds pick up above 50 mph.

“We haven’t been … able to get in that policy. … ,” Marinette said. “The firefighters have basically been out here all during the hurricane,” answering rescue and fire calls.

In Morehead City, Brooke Kittrell rode out the storm Thursday and Friday with her boyfriend aboard their docked boat, hoping it didn’t break loose and slam something.

She succeeded — staying awake all night, retying broken dock lines in howling winds. But there were times she thought they wouldn’t survive, she told CNN.

“I honestly cried,” Kittrell said. “I was born and raised here and been through every storm the last 30 years, but this one seems to be doing more damage than we expected.”

By Friday morning, the shore was flooded, and buildings were damaged, in video she put up on Facebook.

In Jacksonville, North Carolina, city officials posted photos of toppled gas pumps and a downed trees early Friday, warning residents to take shelter and avoid roadways.

Officials in several states have declared states of emergency, including in the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia and Maryland, where coastal areas are still recovering from summer storms.

Florence is one of four named storms in the Atlantic.</s>Hurricane Florence was making landfall in North Carolina early Friday with a life-threatening storm surge that pushed water inland for miles and screaming winds that destroyed buildings in its path.Seventy people had to be pulled from a collapsing motel at the height of the storm, and many more who defied evacuation orders were hoping to be rescued.The powerful storm inundated coastal streets with ocean water and left tens of thousands without power. Forecasters said "catastrophic" freshwater flooding was expected along waterways far from the coast of the Carolinas.As of 6 a.m., Florence was centered just 10 miles east of Wilmington, North Carolina. Its forward movement was 6 mph. Hurricane-force winds extended 90 miles (150 kilometers) from its center, and tropical-storm-force winds up to 195 miles.Winds bent trees toward the ground and raindrops flew sideways as Florence moved in for an extended stay, with enough of its killer winds swirling overseas to maintain its power. Forecasters said the onslaught could last for days, leaving a wide area under water from both heavy downpours and rising seas.The wind howled and sheets of rain splattered against windows of a hotel before dawn in Wilmington, where Sandie Orsa of Wilmington sat in a lobby lit by emergency lights after the power failed."(It's) very eerie, the wind howling, the rain blowing sideways, debris flying," said Orsa, who lives nearby and fears splintering trees will pummel her house.The storm's intensity held at about 90 mph, and it appeared that the north side of the eye was the most dangerous place to be as Florence moved ashore.The National Hurricane Center said a gauge in Emerald Isle, North Carolina, reported 6.3 feet north of Wilmington.And about 46 miles farther up the waterfront, in New Bern, about 150 people were waiting to be rescued from floods on the Neuse River, WXII-TV reported. The city said two FEMA teams were working on swift-water rescues and more were on the way."Surviving this storm will be a test of endurance, teamwork, common sense and patience." Gov. Roy Cooper warned, describing day after day of disastrous weather to come.Cooper also requested additional federal disaster assistance in anticipation of what his office called "historic major damage" across the state.More than 80,000 people were already without power as the storm began buffeting the coast, and more than 12,000 were in shelters. Another 400 people were in shelters in Virginia, where forecasts were less dire.Prisoners were affected, too. North Carolina corrections officials said more than 3,000 people were relocated from adult prisons and juvenile centers in the path of Florence, and more than 300 county prisoners were transferred to state facilities.Officials said some 1.7 million people in the Carolinas and Virginia were warned to evacuate, but it's unclear how many did. The homes of about 10 million were under watches or warnings for the hurricane or tropical storm conditions.Spanish moss waved in the trees as the winds picked up in Wilmington, and floating docks bounced atop swells at Morehead City. Ocean water flowed between homes and on to streets on the Outer Banks; waves crashed against wooden fishing piers.Coastal towns in the Carolinas were largely empty, and schools and businesses closed as far south as Georgia.A buoy off the North Carolina coast recorded waves nearly 30 feet (9 meters) high as Florence churned toward shore.Forecasters said conditions will continue to deteriorate as the storm pushes ashore early Friday near the North Carolina-South Carolina line and makes its way slowly inland. Its surge could cover all but a sliver of the Carolina coast under as much as 11 feet (3.4 meters) of ocean water, and days of downpours could unload more than 3 feet of rain, touching off severe flooding.Once a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph, the hurricane was downgraded to a Category 1 on Thursday night.Forecasters said that given the storm's size and sluggish track, it could cause epic damage akin to what the Houston area saw during Hurricane Harvey just over a year ago, with floodwaters swamping homes and businesses and washing over industrial waste sites and hog-manure ponds.The hurricane was seen as a major test for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which was heavily criticized as slow and unprepared for Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico last year.As Florence drew near, President Donald Trump tweeted that FEMA and first responders are "supplied and ready," and he disputed the official conclusion that nearly 3,000 people died in Puerto Rico, claiming the figure was a Democratic plot to make him look bad.Not everyone was taking Florence too seriously: About two dozen locals gathered Thursday night behind the boarded-up windows of The Barbary Coast bar as Florence blew into Wilmington."We'll operate without power; we have candles. And you don't need power to sling booze," said owner Eli Ellsworth.Others were at home hoping for the best."This is our only home. We have two boats and all our worldly possessions," said Susan Patchkofsky, who refused her family's pleas to evacuate and stayed at Emerald Isle with her husband. "We have a safe basement and generator that comes on automatically. We chose to hunker down."</s>MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Time is running short to get out of the way of Hurricane Florence, a monster of a storm that has a region of more than 10 million people in its potentially devastating sights as it zeroes in on the Southeastern coast.

Forecasters said wind speeds have dropped from a high of 140 mph (225 kph) to 110 mph (175 kph), reducing it from a Category 4 storm to a Category 2, and additional fluctuations and weakening were likely as it swirled toward land. But authorities warned Florence has an enormous wind field that has been growing larger, raising the risk of the ocean surging on to land and making Florence extremely dangerous.

"Do you want to get hit with a train or do you want to get hit with a cement truck?" said Jeff Byard, an administrator with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The National Hurricane Center's best guess was that Florence would blow ashore as early as Friday afternoon around the North Carolina-South Carolina line, then slog its rainy way westward with a potential for catastrophic inland flooding that could swamp homes, businesses and farm fields.

About 5.25 million people live in areas under hurricane warnings or watches, and 4.9 million live in places covered by tropical storm warnings or watches, the National Weather Service said.

Weather Underground meteorology director Jeff Masters said Florence eventually could strike as merely a Category 1 hurricane with winds less than 100 mph (160 kph), but that's still enough to cause at least $1 billion in damage. Water kills more people in hurricanes than wind, and he said it will still be an extremely dangerous storm for rain and storm surge.

Patio furniture is seen in the pool in an effort to keep it from flying away as people prepare ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Florence on September 12, 2018 in Myrtle Beach. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The hurricane center is forecasting the storm to hover near the coast Saturday with winds of around 80 mph (130 kph) before landfall, but with rainfall in the 20 to 30 inches (50 to 75 centimeter) range and up to 13 feet (nearly 4 meters) of storm surge.

President Donald Trump both touted the government's readiness and urged people to get out of the way. "Don't play games with it. It's a big one," he said at the White House.

As of 11 p.m. EDT Wednesday, the storm was centered 260 miles (455 kilometers) east southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, moving northwest at 17 mph (28 kph). The hurricane center said Florence will approach the coast Friday and linger for a while before rolling ashore.

The cone of probability for Hurricane Florence as of 11:00 p.m. EDT, Sept. 12, 2018. At this time, Florence was a Category 2 hurricane. (Credit: NOAA)

It's unclear exactly how many people fled, but more than 1.7 million people in the Carolinas and Virginia were warned to clear out. Airlines had canceled nearly 1,000 flights and counting. Home Depot and Lowe's activated emergency response centers to get generators, trash bags and bottled water to stores before and after the storm. The two hardware chains said they sent in a total of around 1,100 trucks.

Duke Energy, the nation's No. 2 power company, said Florence could knock out electricity to three-quarters of its 4 million customers in the Carolinas, and outages could last for weeks. Workers are being brought in from the Midwest and Florida to help in the storm's aftermath, it said.

Boarding up his home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Chris Pennington watched the forecasts and tried to decide when to leave.

"In 12 or 18 hours, they may be saying different things all over again," he said.

Computer models of exactly what the storm might do varied, adding to the uncertainty. Reacting to the possibility of a more southerly track, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal declared an emergency but did not immediately order any evacuations.

"I ask all Georgians to join me in praying for the safety of our people and all those in the path of Hurricane Florence," Deal said.

Al Brookins poses with his shirt that lists some of the previoius hurricanes he has lived through before the arrival of Hurricane Florence September 12, 2018 in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

In Virginia, where about 245,000 residents were ordered to evacuate low-lying areas, officials urged people to remain away from home despite forecast changes showing Florence's path largely missing the state.

Their entire neighborhood evacuated in Wilmington, North Carolina, David and Janelle Garrigus planned to ride out Florence at their daughter's one-bedroom apartment in Charlotte. Unsure of what they might find when they return home, the couple went shopping for a recreational vehicle.

"We're just trying to plan for the future here, not having a house for an extended period of time," David Garrigus said.

Melody Rawson evacuated her first-floor apartment in Myrtle Beach and arrived at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia, to camp for free with three other adults, her disabled son, two dogs and a pet bird.

"We hope to have something left when we get home," she said. Three other Southern raceways also opened campgrounds to evacuees.

Forecasters worried the storm's damage will be all the worse if it lingers on the coast. The trend is "exceptionally bad news," said University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy, since it "smears a landfall out over hundreds of miles of coastline, most notably the storm surge."

With South Carolina's beach towns more in the bull's-eye because of the shifting forecast, Ohio vacationers Chris and Nicole Roland put off their departure from North Myrtle Beach to get the maximum amount of time on the sand. Most other beachgoers were long gone.

"It's been really nice," Nicole Roland said. "Also, a little creepy. You feel like you should have already left."

Associated Press writers Seth Borenstein in Washington; Jonathan Drew in Wilmington, North Carolina; Jennifer Kay in Miami; Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina; Sarah Rankin and Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia; Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina; Skip Foreman in Charlotte, North Carolina; Jeff Martin in Hampton, Georgia; David Koeing in Dallas; and Jay Reeves in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>Despite being downgraded again late Thursday night, this time to a Category 1 storm, Hurricane Florence has brought hurricane-force winds and life-threatening storm surge. It made landfall along the coast of North Carolina near Wrightsville Beach at 7:15 a.m. Friday.

Here's a roundup of videos taken from people in the storm.

The first video above, taken by Mark Cogdell, shows a gas station on Market St. in Wilmington, North Carolina collapsing in Hurricane Florence's winds.

This next video shows huge waves and storm surge crashing into a structure in North Topsail Beach.

More storm surge can be seen outside a home in Belhaven, North Carolina in this video from Amy Johnson.

Here's video of New Bern, North Carolina where hundreds of people were trapped in flood waters.

“We’re estimating we’ve rescued 150-200,” New Bern Police Lt. David Daniels said early Friday morning, who estimates an additional 150-200 are waiting to be rescued.

The video below, taken in Wilmington, North Carolina, shows a large tree being split in half in Florence's winds.</s>Watch live coverage from Gray TV affiliate WITN out of Wilmington, N.C.

Hurricane Florence made landfall in North Carolina early Friday, pushing a life-threatening storm surge of floodwater miles inland and ripping apart buildings with screaming wind and pelting rain.

More than 60 people had to be pulled from a collapsing motel at the height of the storm, and many more who defied evacuation orders were hoping to be rescued. Pieces of buildings ripped apart by the storm flew through the air.

Most ominously, forecasters said the terrifying onslaught would last for hours and hours, because Florence was barely creeping along and still drawing energy from the ocean.

Florence made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane at 7:15 a.m. at Wrightsville Beach, a few miles east of Wilmington, as the center of its eye moved onshore, the National Hurricane Center said.

Coastal streets flowed with frothy ocean water, and more than 415,000 homes and businesses were without power, mostly in North Carolina, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks the nation's electrical grid.

Forecasters said "catastrophic" freshwater flooding was expected along waterways far from the coast of the Carolinas.

Florence's fiercest winds will linger around the coast for hours since the storm was moving forward at only 6 mph (9 kph). Hurricane-force winds extended 80 miles (130 kilometers) from its center, and tropical-storm-force winds reached out to 195 miles (315 kilometers).
• Many streets under water in Washington, N.C.

Winds bent trees toward the ground and raindrops flew sideways as Florence moved in for an extended stay, with enough of its killer winds swirling overseas to maintain its power. Forecasters said the onslaught could last for days, leaving a wide area under water from both heavy downpours and rising seas.

The wind howled and sheets of rain splattered against windows of a hotel before dawn in Wilmington, where Sandie Orsa of Wilmington sat in a lobby lit by emergency lights after the power failed.

"(It's) very eerie, the wind howling, the rain blowing sideways, debris flying," said Orsa, who lives nearby and fears splintering trees will pummel her house.

The storm's maximum sustained winds held at about 90 mph (144 kph), and it appeared that the north side of the eye was the most dangerous place to be as Florence moved ashore. A gust of 105 mph (169 kph) was recorded at Wilmington airport, surpassing the power of Hurricane Fran two decades ago.

The National Hurricane Center said a gauge in Emerald Isle, North Carolina, reported 6.3 feet (1.92 meters) of inundation. Emerald Isle is about 84 miles 135 kilometers) north of Wilmington.

And about 46 miles farther up the waterfront, in New Bern, about 150 people were waiting to be rescued from floods on the Neuse River, WXII-TV reported. The city said two FEMA teams were working on swift-water rescues and more were on the way.

The worst of the storm's fury had yet to reach coastal South Carolina, where emergency managers said people could still leave flood-prone areas.

"There is still time, but not a lot of time," said Derrec Becker of the South Carolina Department of Emergency Management.

More than 80,000 people in North Carolina already were without power as the storm began buffeting the coast, and more than 12,000 were in shelters. Another 400 people were in shelters in Virginia, where forecasts were less dire.

North Carolina corrections officials said more than 3,000 people were relocated from adult prisons and juvenile centers in the path of Florence, and more than 300 county prisoners were transferred to state facilities.

Officials said some 1.7 million people in the Carolinas and Virginia were warned to evacuate, but it's unclear how many did. The homes of about 10 million were under watches or warnings for the hurricane or tropical storm conditions.

Spanish moss waved in the trees as the winds picked up in Wilmington, and floating docks bounced atop swells at Morehead City. Ocean water flowed between homes and on to streets on the Outer Banks; waves crashed against wooden fishing piers.

Coastal towns in the Carolinas were largely empty, and schools and businesses closed as far south as Georgia.

Forecasters said conditions will continue to deteriorate as the storm makes its way slowly inland. Its surge could cover all but a sliver of the Carolina coast under as much as 11 feet (3.4 meters) of ocean water, and days of downpours could unload more than 3 feet (0.9 meters) of rain, touching off severe flooding.

Once a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph (225 kph), the hurricane was downgraded to a Category 1 on Thursday night.

Forecasters said that given the storm's size and sluggish track, it could cause epic damage akin to what the Houston area saw during Hurricane Harvey just over a year ago, with floodwaters swamping homes and businesses and washing over industrial waste sites and hog-manure ponds.

The hurricane was seen as a major test for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which was heavily criticized as slow and unprepared for Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico last year.

Not everyone was taking Florence too seriously: About two dozen locals gathered Thursday night behind the boarded-up windows of The Barbary Coast bar as Florence blew into Wilmington. Others were at home hoping for the best.

"This is our only home. We have two boats and all our worldly possessions," said Susan Patchkofsky, who refused her family's pleas to evacuate and stayed at Emerald Isle with her husband. "We have a safe basement and generator that comes on automatically. We chose to hunker down."

Associated Press writers Seth Borenstein in Washington; Jeffrey Collins in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Jennifer Kay in Miami; Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina; Sarah Rankin and Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia; Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina; Skip Foreman in Charlotte, North Carolina; Jeff Martin in Hampton, Georgia; David Koenig in Dallas; Gerry Broome at Nags Head, North Carolina; and Jay Reeves in Atlanta contributed to this report.</s>
• The outer bands of Hurricane Florence have started to hit the coast of the Carolinas as it was downgraded to a Category 1 storm late Thursday night, with sustained winds topping 90 mph.
• The National Hurricane Center warned of "life-threatening storm surge and rainfall" in the Carolinas and mid-Atlantic states.
• Hurricane and storm surge warnings are in effect from the South Santee River in South Carolina to Duck, North Carolina.
• Over 5 million people are under hurricane warnings and watches as of Thursday morning.

The outer bands of Hurricane Florence have started to hit the coast of the Carolinas as it was downgraded to a Category 1 storm late Thursday night, with sustained winds topping 90 mph.

Hurricane Florence's center is expected to make landfall somewhere near the border between North and South Carolina on Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), bringing life-threatening storm surge and rainfall.

But the storm's intensity is already being felt — weather stations along the North Carolina coast have registered sustained wind speeds of up to 53 mph, with gusts up to 74 mph.

"If you are in the path of Florence, please stay safe and take shelter today," FEMA said on Twitter Thursday morning. "Communicate with family and friends. Let them know where you are and how you’ll stay in touch."

The NHC has issued hurricane and storm surge warnings for the coastal areas between the South Santee River in South Carolina and Duck, North Carolina as well as Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds. A storm surge watch previously announced for areas north of Duck, North Carolina were canceled.

Powerful waves and walls of water are expected to rush inland when the storm arrives, bringing catastrophic flooding. North Carolina's barrier islands, from Cape Fear to Cape Lookout could see the biggest storm surge: between 9 and 11 feet.

Parts of North Carolina's coast, including Hatteras and the Outer Banks, are already experiencing waves of around 30 feet, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration buoys.

Much of the rest of the Carolina coastline, from the Virginia border down to Edisto Beach, South Carolina is under hurricane and storm surge watch. Hurricane-force winds extend up to 80 miles from Florence's center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 195 miles.

The NHC issued an additional tropical storm warning south of Santee River to Edisto Beach on Thursday.

"This is a very serious storm. The power could go out for many weeks," Brock Long, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Thursday morning.

Florence was expected to slow down considerably late Thursday going into Friday, according to the NHC, meaning it will likely sit over the Carolinas late into the weekend, pounding the area near the shore with rain.

Read More: Where Hurricane Florence's eye is due to make landfall

Around 5.25 million people live in areas under hurricane warnings or watches, and 4.9 million live in places covered by tropical storm warnings or watches, the National Weather Service said, per The Associated Press

"Storm surge is why many of you have been placed under evacuation, and we are asking citizens to please heed the warning. Your time is running out," Long said.

Florence was hovering about 50 miles south of Morehead City, North Carolina, late Thursday night and 60 miles southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina. The storm was moving northwest at about 6 mph.

Five states have declared states of emergency ahead of the storm: Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland, along with Washington, DC.

Evacuation orders are in place in one of South Carolina's four coastal counties. Virginia's governor, Ralph Northam, issued a mandatory evacuation order for residents of the state's low-lying coastal areas as well. In North Carolina, evacuations have been ordered in Dare County, which includes the Outer Banks, as well as other coastal counties, according to The Observer.

In a press conference on Wednesday, North Carolina's governor, Roy Cooper, warned residents: "Disaster is at the doorstep. If you're on the coast there is still time to get out safely."

The storm could leave thousands of buildings flooded. Duke Energy, the Carolinas' major power supplier, said up to 3 million customers could lose power, perhaps for weeks, according to The New York Times.

"This may be a marathon, not a sprint," Cooper added.

Read More: The 14 most important things you should do to prepare for a hurricane

Florence is currently a Category 1 hurricane, meaning it has maximum wind speeds between 74 and 95 mph.

Predicting hurricane paths is a difficult science, and there are still uncertainties about this storm's track. But if predictions hold, Florence's center could make landfall near Wilmington, North Carolina on Friday morning.

"A life-threatening storm surge is now highly likely along portions of the coastlines of South Carolina and North Carolina, and a storm surge warning is in effect for a portion of this area," the NHC said Thursday.

The chart below shows the probability that an area that will see winds of at least 39 mph. The area in purple corresponds to a 90% or higher probability of experiencing those gusts.

Hurricane Florence is predicted to slow over the Carolinas and Virginia, where rainfall totals could reach 40 inches.

Heavy rain, up to 10 inches, may extend as far inland as Charlotte, North Carolina's largest city, and Raleigh, its capital. The NHC also said the storm's effects — including rain, high winds, rip currents, and tidal surges — would most likely be felt outside the "cone of probability" and could extend hundreds of miles from the storm's center.

Sluggish or stalled hurricanes — like Hurricane Harvey, which flooded swaths of Houston, Texas, and the Gulf Coast last year — can become even more dangerous as they stick around, pouring rain.

These types of slow-moving hurricanes are becoming more frequent. Recent research from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that storms had slowed by an average of 10% over land between 1949 and 2016.

Read more: Why the deluge from Hurricane Florence could could be so intense

Other storms are churning as well

There are three other named storms in the Atlantic right now. Tropical Storm Isaac is about 220 miles southeast of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, with sustained wind speeds of about 40 mph. The NHC has issued a tropical storm warning for the islands of Martinique, Dominica, and Guadeloupe.

Tropical Storm Helene has wind speeds of 65 mph, and will likely approach the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal, late Saturday or Sunday. It's not close enough to land for any watches or warnings to be in effect now, though.

Meanwhile, in the Pacific Ocean, Super Typhoon Mangkhut is expected to make landfall in the Philippines on Saturday. It has sustained wind speeds of to 150 mph, and could be bigger and stronger than Florence when it hits land. The storm is then expected to move toward southern China, Vietnam, and Laos.

Tropical Storm Olivia has passed Hawaii, and tropical storm warnings have been lifted.
• Hurricane Florence could dump up to 40 inches of rain on parts of the Carolinas — here's why the deluge may be so intense
• 'Watch out, America!': Astronauts in space photographed Hurricane Florence, and they say the view is 'chilling'
• Watch storm conditions on these livestreams of North and South Carolina beaches in Hurricane Florence's path
• Hurricane Florence is a Category 2 storm — here's what those labels really mean
• The 14 most important things you should do to prepare for a hurricane</s>(CNN) — The rain turned sideways Thursday, rivers swelled and floodwaters began to fill streets as massive Hurricane Florence trudged toward North Carolina.

The Category 2 storm’s outer bands lashed towns on the barrier islands and on some of the Tar Heel State’s rivers while the center of the cyclone was looking at a possible Friday afternoon landfall.

In Morehead City, the rain and surf pounded the shoreline and took aim at the few boats still in the water. In New Bern, on the Neuse River, a CNN team had to keep shifting position in a park as the water kept rising until it was too dangerous to stay in the area.

Farther south, in Carolina Beach, the northern end of the town was being swamped as waters crashed over the dunes.

Some areas also saw the first of the hurricane-force winds. At Cape Lookout there were sustained winds of 82 mph and gusts that came close to 100.

“With this storm, it’s a Category 2 but the storm surge and the flooding is going to be that of a category 4,” CNN Meteorologist Jennifer Gray said Thursday night.

She said the momentum the storm has generated on its long trip across the Atlantic won’t go away just “because the winds decrease a couple miles an hour.”

While wind speeds dropped Thursday, forecasters reminded people that what makes Florence extremely dangerous are the potentially deadly storm surges, the expected mammoth coastal flooding and historic rainfall.

Florence is expected to go move slowly as it approaches North and South Carolina, whipping hurricane-force winds and dumping relentless rain at least through Saturday.

“It’s not going to take much in a lot of these areas to saturate the soil, so trees are going to come down really easily” and knock down power lines, said Ken Graham, director of the National Hurricane Center.
• Florence is getting closer: As of 8 p.m. ET Thursday, the center of Florence was about 85 miles east-southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, and about 145 miles east of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The storm’s forward speed had slowed to 5 mph and forecasters were concerned it might have stalled.
• When is landfall? Florence’s center will approach the North and South Carolina coasts late Thursday and Friday. The actual landfall — when the center of the eye reaches land — will be Friday afternoon at the earliest, said Neil Jacobs of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• Widespread power outages: More than 88,000 homes and businesses are without power, the North Carolina Emergency Management agency said.
• Many flights are canceled: More than 1,300 flights along the US East Coast have been canceled through Friday.

Bookmark this simplified site if you’re in the storm’s path or have a weak phone connection

Millions either flee or prepare for mayhem

The tropical cyclone is expected to unload 10 trillion gallons of rainfall in North Carolina, weather.us meteorologist Ryan Maue said. That’s enough to fill more than 15 million Olympic-size swimming pools.

In the North Carolina town of Rodanthe, on Hatteras Island, Rebecca Well Hooper shot video of the pier early Thursday afternoon.

“There is some damage … but it is still standing strong. There is overwash but nothing we are not used to,” she said.

Despite days of warnings to evacuate, some residents are staying put — even if they don’t want to.

Cheryl Browning lives with her husband and son, who has terminal cancer, in Richlands, North Carolina. They also have three dogs and three parrots.

Browning’s choice to stay in the hurricane warning zone wasn’t easy, she said, but she “could not find anywhere to go.”

“Either no (hotel) rooms are available, or we are denied because the breed or size of dogs,” she said. “Many that will accept them only allow one per room. And since we have three dogs and three parrots, they’re requesting us to purchase two to six rooms.”

And there’s no way her family could afford that — or the $1,728 per room another hotel quoted. Other residents have told CNN they’re not evacuating because emergency shelters won’t accept pets.

“Since my husband retired and my health declined, we have his retirement as an income. He is the only caregiver to me and my son,” Browning said. “So since we can’t find anything within our means … we’ve opted to stay.”

Her neighbors gave her the key to their house, which is two stories and might be safer from flooding, she said. It’s a kind gesture but doesn’t alleviate Browning’s fear.

“I’m not going to lie: I’m scared,” she said. “But I think it’ll be OK.”

More than 1 million people have been ordered to evacuate and authorities urged them to get going before the streets become inundated.

“Inland flooding kills a lot of people. … Please keep that in mind,” and consider leaving soon, Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said midmorning Thursday.

In North Carolina, Florence is expected to dump up to 40 inches of rain and storm surge will be high.

“Catastrophic effects will be felt outside the center of the storm due to storm surge,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Thursday morning. “Tens of thousands of structures are expected to be flooded, and many more by rising rivers and creeks.”

In Murrell’s Inlet, South Carolina, Mikey Zalloum of Uncle Mikey’s Brick Oven Pizza sweated as he worked feverishly to make pies Thursday night.

His bustling pizza restaurant is one of the few businesses open in the evacuated town.

Why is he open when the town is mostly evacuated? He said he has been through this many times in his 15 years in the Myrtle Beach area and that “nothing is going to happen.”

He said he usually doesn’t make the pizzas himself, but he was on Thursday because “everybody is scared,” including most of his staff.

Officials in several states have declared states of emergency, including in the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia and Maryland, where coastal areas are still recovering from summer storms.</s>Hurricane Florence smashed into the US East Coast Friday with howling winds, torrential rains and life-threatening storm surges as emergency crews scrambled to rescue hundreds of people stranded in their homes by flood waters.

Forecasters warned of catastrophic flooding and other mayhem from the monster storm, which is only Category 1 but physically sprawling and dangerous.

The port city of Wilmington woke Friday to the sound of exploding electrical transformers with strong gusts throwing street signs and other debris as well as water in all directions, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.

The storm officially made landfall near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina at 7:15 am (1115 GMT), the National Hurricane Center said.

Ken Graham, the NHC’s director, warned the slow pace of the storm exacerbated its danger even to areas outside its immediate path. “The longer you have this hurricane wind flow, the longer you push that water well inland,” he said.

Rescue workers in North Carolina meanwhile were scrambling to save people stranded in their homes. Video footage showed parking lots in the riverfront town of New Bern turn into shallow lakes of dirty gray water as heavy rain fell.

New Bern Police Lt. David Daniels said early Friday morning that between 150 and 200 people had been rescued so far, with others still waiting for help.

“Currently ~150 awaiting rescue in New Bern,” City Hall said on Twitter.

Nearly 300,000 customers in North Carolina were meanwhile reported to be without power as the outer band of the storm approached.

In its 1200 GMT advisory, the center said Florence was packing winds of 90 miles per hour (150 kph) and moving northwest at six miles per hour (10 kilometers per hour).

It added the greatest threats to life came from storm-surges while “catastrophic flash flooding and prolonged significant river flooding” was expected, with some areas receiving up to 40 inches of rainfall.

In a display of the early effects of the storm, one flood gauge on the Neuse River in New Bern, North Carolina, showed 10 feet (three meters) of flooding, the NHC said.

With winds picking up along the coastline earlier Thursday, federal and state officials had issued final appeals to residents to get out of the path of the “once in a lifetime” weather system.

“This storm will bring destruction,” North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said. “Catastrophic effects will be felt.”

The NHC said hurricane-force winds extended outward 80 miles from the center of the storm and tropical storm-force winds extended nearly 195 miles out.

A tornado watch was also in effect for parts of North Carolina.

Brock Long, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), warned the danger was not only along the coast: “Inland flooding kills a lot of people, unfortunately, and that’s what we’re about to see,” he said.

About 1.7 million people in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia are under voluntary or mandatory evacuation orders and millions of others live in areas likely to be affected by the storm.

Myrtle Beach, a South Carolina beach resort, was deserted with empty streets, boarded up storefronts and very little traffic.

A state of emergency has been declared in five coastal states – North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Maryland and Virginia.

Duke Energy, a power company in the Carolinas, estimated that one million to three million customers could lose electricity because of the storm and that it could take weeks to restore.

Not everybody was heeding orders to evacuate, however.

Antonio Ramirez, a construction worker from El Salvador living in Leland, North Carolina, said he planned to ride out the worst of the weather with his dog Canelo.

“The shelters are not taking dogs,” Ramirez said. “I’m not leaving him here.”

In Wilmington, residents who had decided not to evacuate were lining up to get ice from a vending machine – $2 for a 16-pound (7.2-kilo) bag.

“I have no generator,” said Petra Langston, a nurse. “I learned from the past to keep the ice in the washing machine.”

Perched on the porch of his home, carpenter Tony Albright was calmly awaiting Florence’s arrival, beer in hand.

“I built this house myself, so I’m not worried at all, I know it’s solid,” he said. “I charged the batteries of my electronic devices, I have beers and video games.”

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
Hurricane Florence makes landfall in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, as a Category 1 hurricane. and leaves over 895,000 residences and businesses without electrical power. A 105 mph (169 km/h) gust hits Wilmington, the strongest wind recorded there since Hurricane Helene in 1958. Florence is later downgraded to a Tropical Storm as it moves inland with sustained winds of 70 mph (110 km/h).