President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the federal government would spare no expense in responding to the likely damage from Hurricane Florence, which is forecast to slam the Carolina coast later this week.

"Any amounts of money, whatever it takes, we're going to do it," Trump told reporters at the White House as he met with top aides and federal disaster officials.

In remarks aimed at Americans who could find themselves in harm's way, the president noted that experts were predicting a storm the likes of which the East Coast of the United States has not seen in decades.

"I would say everybody should get out, he said. "It's going to be really, really bad along the coast."

Federal forecasters expect the storm to make landfall on Friday with 130 mile-per-hour (215 kph) winds and massive waves, with rains taking a heavy toll inland. Some 1 million people have been ordered to evacuate their homes.

The government's top disaster response official, Federal Emergency Management Agency head Brock Long, told reporters that residents in areas likely to be affected should not under-estimate the threat.

"This has an opportunity of being a very devastating storm," Long said. "The power is going to be off for weeks. You are going to be displaced from your home in the coastal areas, and there will be flooding in the inland areas as well."

Trump, who has faced criticism for his administration's response to Hurricane Maria in 2017, which killed an estimated 3,000 people in the US territory of Puerto Rico, knocked out power to all 3.4 million residents of the Caribbean island, with thousands still without power even six months after the storm hit, said the federal government was "totally prepared" for Florence.

"We're ready. We're as ready as anybody has ever been," he said.

Asked what lessons could be learn from Maria, Trump said the government's response in that case was complicated because Puerto Rico is an island and its electrical grid was already impaired.

"I actually think it was one of the best jobs that's ever been done," he said. "I think that Puerto Rico was an incredible unsung success."

The mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico's capital, Carmen Yulin Cruz, blasted Trump for touting his administration's response to the hurricane as a success.

"This was a despicable act of neglect on the part of his administration," Cruz told CNN.

Florence, a Category 4 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, was located about 785 miles (1,260 km) southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina, at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT), according to the National Hurricane Center.</s>WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Sep 12) said the federal government would spare no expense in responding to the likely damage from Hurricane Florence, which is forecast to slam the Carolina coast later this week.

"Any amounts of money, whatever it takes, we're going to do it," Trump told reporters at the White House as he met with top aides and federal disaster officials.

In remarks aimed at Americans who could find themselves in harm's way, the president noted that experts were predicting a storm the likes of which the East Coast of the United States has not seen in decades.

"I would say everybody should get out, he said. "It's going to be really, really bad along the coast."

Federal forecasters expect the storm to make landfall on Friday with 130 mile-per-hour (215 kph) winds and massive waves, with rains taking a heavy toll inland. Some 1 million people have been ordered to evacuate their homes.

The government's top disaster response official, Federal Emergency Management Agency head Brock Long, told reporters that residents in areas likely to be affected should not under-estimate the threat.

"This has an opportunity of being a very devastating storm," Long said. "The power is going to be off for weeks. You are going to be displaced from your home in the coastal areas, and there will be flooding in the inland areas as well."

Trump, who has faced criticism for his administration's response to Hurricane Maria in 2017, which killed an estimated 3,000 people in the US territory of Puerto Rico, knocked out power to all 3.4 million residents of the Caribbean island, with thousands still without power even six months after the storm hit, said the federal government was "totally prepared" for Florence.

"We're ready. We're as ready as anybody has ever been," he said.

Asked what lessons could be learn from Maria, Trump said the government's response in that case was complicated because Puerto Rico is an island and its electrical grid was already impaired.

"I actually think it was one of the best jobs that's ever been done," he said. "I think that Puerto Rico was an incredible unsung success."

The mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico's capital, Carmen Yulin Cruz, blasted Trump for touting his administration's response to the hurricane as a success.

"This was a despicable act of neglect on the part of his administration," Cruz told CNN.

Florence, a Category 4 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, was located about 785 miles (1,260 km) southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina, at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT), according to the National Hurricane Center.</s>Hurricane Florence, a powerful Category 4 storm, threatens to hit North and South Carolina, as well as a large part of the southeastern US coast, though the storm is expected to slightly weaken by Thursday, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Wednesday.

"While some weakening is expected to begin by late Thursday, Florence is still forecast to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it nears the U.S. coast on Friday," the Miami-based NHC said in its 15:00 GMT public advisory.</s>Trump Says Federal Government Is Ready for Hurricane Florence

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Latest on Hurricanes Florence and Isaac (all times local):

North Carolina’s governor has ordered a mandatory evacuation for the state’s barrier islands as Hurricane Florence approaches the East Coast.

Gov. Roy Cooper said Tuesday that he had issued a first-of-its-kind state evacuation to help prompt residents of the barrier islands, including the Outer Banks, to leave.

Cooper said local governments are typically responsible for issuing evacuation orders in North Carolina, and some localities have already issued orders to evacuate.

But Cooper said he believed Florence will be “so fierce” that the state needs to provide an “added incentive” for people to leave.

Governors in South Carolina and Virginia have also issued mandatory evacuation orders ahead of the storm.

Meteorologists say they are expecting rainfall from Hurricane Florence to measure in feet, not inches.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Weather Prediction Center forecasts as much as 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain, if not more, for parts of North Carolina. Rain could reach as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) elsewhere in North Carolina, Virginia, parts of Maryland and Washington, D.C.

But one trusted computer model, the European simulation, is predicting more than 45 inches (114 centimeters) of rain in parts of North Carolina, such as New Hanover County, with meteorologists comparing the rainfall to last year’s Hurricane Harvey.

A year ago people would have laughed off a forecast of 45 inches of rain, but the European model was accurate in predicting 60 inches (152 centimeters) of rain for Harvey.

University of Miami hurricane expert Brian McNoldy says it is “looking likely” that Florence will unleash feet, not inches of rain.

President Trump says the federal government is “absolutely, totally prepared” for Hurricane Florence as it heads toward the Eastern Seaboard.

The president briefed reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Tuesday.

Trump has declared states of emergency for North and South Carolina ahead of the Category 4 hurricane, which frees up help from federal agencies.

He has also canceled campaign events Thursday and Friday in anticipation of the storm.

The president was meeting with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency later Tuesday.

Some areas in Florence’s path, particularly northern Virginia, have seen more rainfall than normal this summer, and National Weather Service officials say that means flooding might begin more quickly.

Data from the weather service show some parts of northern Virginia have seen 10 inches (25 centimeters) or more of precipitation above average over the past 90 days.

Fred Turck is part of the Virginia’s Department of Forestry’s fire and emergency response division. He says the department is concerned about what could be excessive timber damage. He says when soil is saturated, less wind than normally would be needed can topple a tree because the roots don’t hold as well.

Turck says tree damage will result in short-term impacts like power outages, blocked roads and damaged structures but could also impact the long-term health of forests and lead to wildfire problem.

The mayor of Washington, D.C., has declared a state of emergency as the nation’s capital prepares for heavy rains, flooding and power outages related to Hurricane Florence.

Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the move Tuesday morning, describing it as a necessary step to “ensure we have the resources and support” to handle several days of torrential rain.

Several public events and street festivals scheduled for this weekend have been canceled, and Bowser advised Washington residents to stock up on groceries and batteries and make sure their prescriptions are filled.

City officials say the primary dangers to residents will come from flash flooding and power lines downed by falling tree branches.

Some Virginians who have been ordered to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Florence may have to wait a few days before they can get into a free shelter.

Virginia Department of Emergency Management spokesman Jeff Caldwell said local governments are responsible for opening up shelters for evacuees and some won’t open until Wednesday or Thursday.

Gov. Ralph Northam ordered a mandatory evacuation for some residents of low-lying coastal areas that went into effect at 8 a.m. Tuesday. The order affects 245,000 residents in the Hampton Roads area, the Eastern Shore and other coastal areas.

Caldwell said the state is considering opening its own shelters later this week if the local shelters fill to capacity.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is saying his state is “in the bull’s-eye” of Hurricane Florence. The very center of that bull’s-eye may be Camp Lejeune. Authorities on the sprawling Marine Corps training base are in emergency mode, staging equipment and urging families on the base to build survival kits with the food and equipment needed to sustain themselves for 72 hours.

Mandatory coastal evacuations were in effect for civilians in South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, but the military base posted on Facebook that different chains-of-command would decide whether to release non-essential personnel. Some military families are venting fears they won’t be able to evacuate in time.

Officials say they’re taking steps to ensure safety at nuclear power plants in South Carolina as a Category 4 hurricane nears the state.

Ryan Mosier of Duke Energy told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the power company was closely monitoring Hurricane Florence and ensuring that emergency equipment is in working order.

Duke operates three nuclear stations in South Carolina, though none are along the coast. SCANA operates two reactors at a site just north of Columbia.

Mosier says each of Duke’s sites has emergency generators for backup power, as well as pumps and other redundant systems and supplies of food and water for employees.

If forecasters predict any site will experience sustained winds of 73 mph (117 kph) or more, Mosier says operators will begin to shut down units at least two hours prior to impact.

Gov. Greg Abbott says Texas is preparing for a possible tropical storm system in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico.

The tropical system is one of five that have formed in the Atlantic Ocean, including hurricanes Florence and Helene, Tropical Storm Isaac and an as-yet unnamed system far off the East Coast. Abbott says Texas is keeping an eye on the system in the Gulf.

The National Hurricane Center says that system could become a tropical depression by Thursday or Friday, and that residents along both the Texas and Louisiana coasts should monitor the storm.

Florence is the most powerful and dangerous of all the weather systems. The Category 4 hurricane with 130 mph (215 kph) winds was barreling toward the coasts of North and South Carolina and has been forecast to hit land as an extremely large, powerful and dangerous storm. Some coastal residents have been ordered to evacuate.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster says he has lifted mandatory evacuation orders in three counties along the state’s southern coast. McMaster made the announcement Tuesday as forecasters continued to show Hurricane Florence’s projected tract moving farther northward. McMaster also said lane reversals would begin at 11 a.m. Tuesday on Interstate 26, an hour earlier than had been scheduled, allowing all lanes of the interstate to move westward, away from the coast.

Forecasters say Florence will arrive on land as an extremely dangerous major hurricane by the end of the week.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Florence has maximum sustained winds near 130 mph (215 kph). By 11 a.m. Tuesday, Florence was centered about 905 miles (1,455 kilometers) east-southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina, and moving west-northwest at 16 mph (25 kph). Its center will move between Bermuda and the Bahamas on Tuesday and Wednesday, then approach the coast of South Carolina or North Carolina.

Two other storms are spinning in the Atlantic as the 2018 hurricane season peaks: Tropical Storm Isaac is approaching the Caribbean, while Hurricane Helene is no threat to land over waters. As Isaac approaches the Caribbean, hurricane watches are in effect for Guadeloupe, Martinique and Dominica, while a tropical storm watch was issued for Antigua and Montserrat.

The Navy has authorized an emergency evacuation order ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Florence.

Rear Adm. Charles Rock is commander of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic. He said in a statement Tuesday that the safety of personnel and families is his top priority now.

The order follows Virginia’s evacuation order and remains in effect until Sept. 16. So far, state officials’ tiered system only requires residents of the most flood-prone areas, known as “Zone A,” to leave their homes.

The Navy’s order applies to Navy and civilian personnel, dependents of active-duty service members and reservists on active duty living in Hampton Roads and Zone A.

The Navy says Region Mid-Atlantic evacuees are authorized to proceed within 500 miles (805 kilometers) of the designated remote safe haven area of Asheville, North Carolina. Others should head to the remote safe haven area designated by their parent chain of command.

The Virginia Department of Corrections has evacuated inmates from a coastal prison as Hurricane Florence approaches the East Coast.

The department said in a statement Tuesday that the Indian Creek Correctional Center in Chesapeake was evacuated Monday night after Gov. Ralph Northam issued a mandatory evacuation order for some of the state’s lowest-lying coastal areas. The medium-security facility provides treatment programs for substance-abusing offenders.

The department also says all visitation statewide is canceled for Saturday and Sunday.

The National Hurricane Center says Florence is expected to approach the coast of North or South Carolina on Thursday, but Virginia is also under a state of emergency. Officials say the state is expecting a coastal storm surge, high wind, inland flooding and widespread power outages.

The Democrat running to be South Carolina’s next governor has been called up for guard duty as the state prepares for the arrival of Hurricane Florence.

Campaign spokesman Brad Warthen tells The Associated Press that James Smith has been activated as part of his service as a major in the South Carolina Army National Guard.

Warthen didn’t know specifically where Smith had been stationed, but the Army says guardsmen typically help when traffic patterns are altered for evacuations.

Gov. Henry McMaster has ordered the evacuation of South Carolina’s coastline. State troopers are clearing eastbound lanes of Interstate 26 so that they could be reversed later Tuesday.

Smith is challenging McMaster in this fall’s election. On Monday, both candidates suspended their campaigns as the state gets ready for the storm.

The Army says the South Carolina National Guard has mobilized about 1,600 soldiers and airmen to prepare for Hurricane Florence.

South Carolina’s governor has ordered more than a million people living along the state’s coast to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Florence.

Gov. Henry McMaster says he’s preparing the state for winds as powerful as Hurricane Hugo, which plowed inland nearly 30 years ago and caused devastating damage.

McMaster said on CNN Tuesday that officials are “taking nothing for granted” with Florence predicted to make landfall Thursday. The storm is so huge that South Carolina won’t be spared even if it escapes the eye of the hurricane.

The evacuation order becomes mandatory at noon Tuesday, but cameras show traffic already backing up along the main interstate connecting Charleston and Columbia.

National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham is warning that the “staggering” size of Florence means its impacts will be felt far and wide.

Forecasters say hurricane-force winds extend up to 40 miles (65 kilometers) from the center of Hurricane Florence, and tropical storm-force winds reach up to 150 miles (240 kilometers) from its eye.

That means the hurricane will be dumping rain over multiple East Coast states, and it’s not just a coastal problem. With torrential rains in the Appalachian mountains, that water could easily cause flash floods.

President Donald Trump is canceling a campaign rally in advance of Hurricane Florence’s landfall.

His campaign says it’s canceling a Thursday event in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where he had been scheduled to stump for the Republican senate candidate, state attorney general Josh Hawley.

The campaign said the event was scuttled out of safety concerns. It was the second rally Trump cancelled this week due to the storm, following a Friday rally slated for Mississippi.

The massive hurricane is closing in on the Carolinas and Virginia and could cause disastrous weather as far as Pennsylvania and Ohio.

The National Hurricane Center says a new report from an Air Force Reserve Unit hurricane hunter aircraft indicates that Hurricane Florence’s top sustained winds have decreased slightly to 130 mph (215 kph), with higher gusts.

Florence is still a Category 4 hurricane and is expected to regain its top wind strength in the next day or so. It remains an extremely dangerous major hurricane through Thursday night.

The 8 a.m. forecast changes the storm surge watch for the eastern United States, with the worst impact, a surge of up to 12 feet, expected on a stretch from Cape Fear to Cape Lookout in North Carolina. It says total rainfall could reach 30 inches in some places, prompting life-threatening flash flooding from South Carolina to Northern Virginia.

Hurricane Florence has slightly increased in speed as it heads toward the U.S. East Coast.

The National Hurricane Center said Tuesday morning that Florence is moving toward the west-northwest near 15 mph (24 kmh) and the storm will continue a slight increase in speed during the next couple of days.

The Miami-based center says the storm’s center was located about 410 miles (660 kilometers) south of Bermuda and about 975 miles (1570 kilometers) east-southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina.

Maximum sustained winds were clocked at 140 mph (220 kph) as it moved west-northwest at 13 mph (20 kph).

Florence is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane through Thursday night.

Hurricane Florence continues to grow in size and magnitude as it barrels toward the U.S. East Coast.

The National Hurricane Center said Monday the monster storm will be close to Category 5 strength by Tuesday. A Category 5 storm has the potential to cause catastrophic damage.

“The bottom line is that there is high confidence that Florence will be a large and extremely dangerous hurricane, regardless of its exact intensity,” the hurricane center said. Florence was a Category 4 storm late afternoon Monday.

At 11 p.m. EDT, the storm’s center was located about 465 miles (750 kilometers) south-southeast of Bermuda and about 1,085 miles (1745 kilometers) east-southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina.

Maximum sustained winds were clocked at 140 mph (220 kph) as it moved west-northwest at 13 mph (20 kph).

Some strengthening is expected during the next 36 hours, and Florence is expected to be an extremely dangerous major hurricane through Thursday.</s>COLUMBIA, MO – The Federal Emergency Management Agency has active 3 members of Missouri Task Force 1 to deploy ahead of Hurricane Florence. It’s expected the hurricane, currently, a category 4 storm will impact the southeast United States on Thursday or Friday of this week.

Governors along the Eastern Seaboard have already issued advisory’s, warnings and mandatory evacuation orders. The states expected to take the brunt of the landfall are North and South Carolina. Residents are being urged to stock up on essential needs and food.

Missouri Task Force 1 members are being deployed to North Carolina for up to 14 days.</s>WASHINGTON – Facing the political perils that a natural disaster can bring, President Donald Trump is emphasizing that his team is ready for Hurricane Florence even as he comes under renewed fire from critics who have slammed the response last year to the devastation in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria.

In tweets, statements, and a short video released Wednesday, Trump has praised his team's hurricane preparation – "we're ready, we're able" – and urged residents of the Carolinas, Virginia and Georgia to take warnings seriously.

"Bad things can happen when you’re talking about a storm this size," Trump said in the 1-minute, 26-second video he tweeted out Wednesday. "(It's) called Mother Nature; you never know – but we know."

During a White House reception for Congressional Medal of Honor recipients and their families, Trump said: “We’re getting tremendous accolades from politicians and the people. We are ready, but this is going to be one of the biggest ones to ever hit our country."

Trump has also hailed his administration's past response efforts – including Puerto Rico, which he called an "unsung success" in the face of criticism.

Nearly 3,000 people died in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Maria, making it the second deadliest hurricane in U.S. history. The toll far exceeded the original estimates, leading to accusations that the Federal Emergency Management Administration did not do its job.

Maria left much of the island without power for months as it destroyed homes and and crippled infrastructure.

On a visit to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of the Sept. 20, 2017, storm, Trump tossed paper towels to Puerto Rican residents at a local relief center, angering storm victims and others who saw his actions as insensitive.

Democrats excoriated Trump over his tweet saying that his administration "got A-pluses" for previous hurricane work in Texas and Florida and "did an unappreciated great job" with Puerto Rico.

"The 2017 hurricane season made painfully clear that FEMA has limited capacity to respond to multiple disasters as it is," said Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss., top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee.

Thompson and others pointed to a new report that said the Trump administration used nearly $10 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's budget to bolster border efforts by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., told USA TODAY that, with more hurricanes on the way, "this is just incredibly irresponsible."

Trump administration aides said the money in question was unused administration funds, and that moving them to ICE did not affect FEMA rescue missions.

As Hurricane Florence approaches the United States, Trump has cleared his schedule for the next two days. The president had planned to travel to political rallies in Missouri on Thursday and Mississippi on Friday, but those events were canceled.

The Trump administration is looking to avoid the political fate of predecessors like George W. Bush. Bush took heat over the botched response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, as thousands of flooded-out New Orleans residents were stranded without access to food or shelter.

Bush's father saw his re-election prospects in 1992 dim over what critics called a slow response to Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

It can happen at any level of government.

Back in 1979, political analysts believe Chicago Mayor Michael Bilandic lost his re-election bid to Jane Byrne because of the poor way the city handled a major snowstorm.

"Any executive – mayors, governors, presidents – are really judged by how they respond to these natural disasters," said Elaine Kamarck, senior fellow in governance studies with the Brookings Institution. "George Bush had a deep slide after Katrina, and he never really recovered from it."

More: Trump gives himself 'A pluses' on 'hurricane work,' blames Maria on San Juan mayor

More: Trump administration took nearly $10 million from FEMA's budget to support ICE, documents show</s>Hurricane Florence is not only a category 3 hurricane powerful enough to cause substantial damage to several states in the United States- it’s also predicted to move slowly, wreaking havoc in the Carolinas particularly for several days.

Hurricane Florence is predicted to make landfall by Thursday night. However, by Friday morning, it’s likely to slow “to a crawl,” according to CNN, moving at two or three miles per hour along the coast before moving inland.

Brock Long, a FEMA administrator, said of Hurricane Florence, “What’s unique [about this hurricane] is that it’s forecast to stall…dropping copious amounts of rainfall across the Carolinas and into Virginia.”

Here’s what you need to know.

Hurricane Florence Is Set to Make Landfall on Thursday Evening

Hurricane Florence is set to make landfall on Thursday evening and wreak havoc on the Carolinas for several days. Specifically, the rainfall from Hurricane Florence is set to last for about four days, per CNN, which is why there is such a high risk of catastrophic flooding.

Currently, prediction models estimate Hurricane Florence to have moved through the Carolinas by Monday.

Jeff Masters, meteorology director of the private Weather Underground, said to Fox News, “It’s going to coming roaring up to the coast Thursday night and say ‘I’m not sure I really want to do this and I’ll just take a tour of the coast and decide where I want to go inland.”</s>Hurricane Florence has been branded a once in a lifetime storm as the powerful weather system is on a path to crash into the US East Coast. Florence is currently a Category 4 Hurricane barrelling towards the US East Coast with some experts claiming it will make a direct hit. According to the latest weather chart which focuses on maximum wind gust, Hurricane Florence appears to hit the US coastline on Thursday evening into Friday morning. More than one million people are estimated to have fled as the Hurricane heads towards the US.

WTSP meteorologist Ashley Batey warned the hurricane will hit the east coast in the next couple of days. She warned: “All eyes are focused on this storm, Hurricane Florence. Winds have decreased a little bit this morning down to 130mph but that’s only because it’s undergone what’s called an eyewall replacement cycle that temporarily weakens the storm. “But as we put the tracker on you can see by tomorrow morning we’re still anticipating this will strengthen into the neighbourhood of 150mph. “A category five is 157mph or above, we certainly flirt with that before we see a little bit of weakening as we see it approaching the Carolinas coastline on Thursday, likely during the evening. And then from there, it’s going across the area meaning a big flooding threat is in the forecast. “Models becoming more and more confident on where the storm is going to make landfall. It looks like it will be North Carolina. And from there we’ll see it kind of set before it moves on to the north.

“But for about two days this storm is only going to move about 100 miles or so. That means we’re going to see a lot of rain associated to the storm.” A state of emergency being declared in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. President Donald Trump said: “Hurricane Florence is looking even bigger than anticipated. It will be arriving soon. FEMA, First Responders and Law Enforcement are supplied and ready. Be safe!” In a video message on Twitter, President Trump added: “Hurricane Florence is fast approaching, it’s going to be here in the next 48 hours and they say it is about as big as they have seen coming to this country and certainly to the east coast as they have ever said.

“We will handle it. We are ready. We are able, we have got the finest people I think anywhere in the world. FEMA and the first responders are out there, they’re going to stand through the danger of this storm. Get out of its way, don’t play games with it. It’s a big one.” North Carolina’s governor, Roy Cooper, said: “North Carolina is taking #HurricaneFlorence seriously, and you should too. Get ready now.” The latest NOAA update reads: “Florence is moving toward the west-northwest near 17 mph (28 km/h), and this motion is expected to continue this morning. “A motion toward the northwest is forecast to begin by this afternoon and continue through Thursday. Florence is expected to slow down considerably by late Thursday into Friday, and move slowly through early Saturday.</s>Hurricane Florence is a dangerous Category 4 hurricane.

 

 A hurricane watch and storm surge watch have been issued for the entire coast of North Carolina, including Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, and the South Carolina coast as far south as Edisto Beach.

This includes Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Wilmington and the Outer Banks.



 

 Florence is undergoing what’s called an eyewall replacement cycle meaning the storm is trying to restructure itself in order to strengthen further. It’s possible we could have a Cat 5 storm today or tomorrow.

There is still some forecast uncertainty on where the eye of Florence will make landfall late Thursday or Friday. This will determine what part of the coastline experiences the worst wind and storm-surge impacts.



 

 Tropical storm force winds may arrive in the watch area by Thursday morning. Hurricane conditions may arrive by late Thursday or Thursday night.

We could see power outages, tree damage, structural damage as well as tornadoes when the storm comes ashore.



 

 Florence will produce very heavy rain along the coast and further inland. If the storm stalls (which some guidance is suggesting) we could be dealing with historic, catastrophic life threatening floods.

If you live in the Carolinas, Virginia and surrounding areas, please pay close attention to the latest forecast details and heed all warnings from your local officials.

This storm will certainly go down in the books as one of the strongest on record if this track is verified.</s>President Donald Trump speaks while meeting with FEMA Administrator Brock Long and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen in the Oval Office on Tuesday. | Win McNamee/Getty Images Trump claims his Hurricane Maria response was an 'incredible unsung success' The president has long complained he hasn't gotten the credit he deserves for the response to the storm, which killed nearly 3,000 people in Puerto Rico.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed that his administration's response to Hurricane Maria, last year's devastating storm that killed nearly 3,000 people in Puerto Rico, was an "incredible unsung success."

Speaking to reporters as he received a briefing on Hurricane Florence, which is threatening to wreak havoc on the East Coast, Trump again lamented that his government has been unfairly criticized for its sluggish response to Maria.

Story Continued Below

"I think Puerto Rico was incredibly successful," Trump said, adding that the island territory posed considerable challenges for relief efforts. "It was one of the best jobs that's ever been done with respect to what this is all about."

The Trump administration's relief efforts were visibly slower in Puerto Rico compared with those in Texas after Hurricane Harvey that season, with the Federal Emergency Management Agency taking twice as much time to deliver some supplies to the territory. Trump himself created several controversial moments, such as hurling paper towels at storm survivors in Puerto Rico and saying the island didn't endure a "real catastrophe" like Hurricane Katrina. The official death toll from that storm hit nearly 3,000 last month — a dramatic increase from the earlier official count of 64.

Though Trump claimed Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló would laud the president's response to the storm, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz called the federal government's response a "stain for FEMA and Trump’s reputation" in an interview with Newsweek published Tuesday.

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Following Maria, Cruz was one of Trump's most vocal critics, and her ire has not tempered as Florence approaches the East Coast. She said on Twitter on Tuesday that Trump‘s calling his response a success "adds insult [to] injury."

"Success? Federal response according to Trump in Puerto Rico a success? If he thinks the death of 3,000 people [is] a success God help us all," Cruz tweeted.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who announced last week that the state would help more than 11,000 displaced Puerto Ricans sue Trump and the federal government over the response to Maria, also decried the president's comments as insulting to the thousands who died in the storm.

"Let me be clear: these are Americans, Mr. President, who you let down, tossed a few rolls of paper towels to, and then abandoned in a way you never would have done in Florida and Texas," Cuomo said in a statement.

Trump blamed the territory's infrastructure for much of the loss of power in Puerto Rico following Maria, saying the island was bankrupt and had lost power before the storm made landfall. In contrast, states like Virginia and the Carolinas "are doing a very good job" and "have very strong power companies,” he said.

The president on Tuesday emphasized that his administration was "absolutely totally prepared" to respond to Florence, which has become a Category 4 storm packing winds of 140 miles per hour.

Trump also told reporters that Florence would be “tremendously big and tremendously wet — tremendous amount of water," and that his officials were "sparing no expense" preparing for the biggest hurricane "in decades."

Trump's campaign has also been aware of the optics risk around the storm, and on Tuesday it canceled a second rally that had been scheduled for later in the week, citing safety concerns. Trump had planned to hold events in Missouri and Mississippi, as he ratchets up his travel ahead of the midterms.

“With Hurricane Florence on its way, we determined that this is the safest decision," said Michael Glassner, chief operating officer of Donald J. Trump for President Inc., in announcing the cancellation of the Missouri trip.

Trump has also been active on Twitter, warning Americans to take proper precautions and to show that he's keeping on top of the storm's movement.

Trump tweeted on Monday that he had been in contact with the governors of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and FEMA Administrator Brock Long. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he was getting daily briefings on the status of four storms affecting U.S. states and territories.

Trump on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in Virginia, ordering federal assistance to the state government to respond to the storm. Earlier this week, the president granted federal emergency assistance to North Carolina, South Carolina and the Northern Mariana Islands, which experienced a Pacific typhoon.

The president tweeted on Monday: "My people just informed me that this is one of the worst storms to hit the East Coast in many years. Also, looking like a direct hit on North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Please be prepared, be careful and be SAFE!"

The storm is likely to dominate the news this week and require a massive response from the federal government.

Florence is expected to approach the North Carolina coast late Thursday or early Friday — with damaging winds and devastating storm surge — before slowing down and dumping huge amounts of rain on parts of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic that could result in life-threatening floods.

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) said the coordination and preparation ahead of the storm were “exemplary” and better than he’d seen in his 25 years in Congress.

“Far better than others, because Brock Long has thought disaster through,” Burr told reporters Tuesday afternoon.

A disaster similar to what happened in Puerto Rico, Burr added, “would be a failure of North Carolina to successfully evacuate people, which is North Carolina’s responsibility. It’s not the federal government’s responsibility.”

Asked whether Trump’s praise of the administration’s handling of Puerto Rico troubled him ahead of the storm, Burr replied: “You’ve got to ask him about his comments.”

Steven Shepard and Burgess Everett contributed to this report.
The Donald Trump campaign cancels a rally for Missouri ahead of Hurricane Florence, which is expected to make landfall on the East Coast.