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Thursday, September 13, 2018, 18:34
Time nearly up: Fierce Hurricane Florence aims at Southeast
By Associated Press
Thursday, September 13, 2018, 18:34 By Associated Press

Stewart Thomason places sandbags that he used for previous hurricanes and tarp to prevent the flooding from rain at his home on the Isle of Palms, South Carolina ahead of Hurricane Florence on Sept 12, 2018. (GRACE BEAHM ALFORD/THE POST AND COURIER VIA AP)

MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina — 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 225 kph to175 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.

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

"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.

READ MORE: Millions prepare for potentially catastrophic Florence

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 160 kph, but that's still enough to cause at least US$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.

The hurricane center is forecasting the storm to hover near the coast Saturday with winds of around 130 kph before landfall, but with rainfall in the 50 to 75 centimeter range and up to nearly 4 meters of storm surge.

ALSO READ: 'Monster' Hurricane Florence nears Carolina coast


This graphic created on Sept 12, 2018 forecasts the path of Hurricane Florence.

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 5 am EDT Thursday, was about 325 kilometers east southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina and about 450 kilometers east southeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, moving northwest at 24 kph. The hurricane center said Florence will approach the coast Friday and linger for a while before rolling ashore.

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.

Wrightsville Beach Police officers check identification at the bridge to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, Sept 12, 2018. The island closed to non-residents at 8 am. (MATT BORN/THE STAR-NEWS VIA AP)

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 2 am EDT Thursday, was about 378 kilometers east southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina and about 450 kilometers east southeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, moving northwest at 28 kph. The hurricane center said Florence will approach the coast Friday and linger for a while before rolling ashore.

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.

Clark Williamson, exhibit designer, drapes the sculpture "The Age of Bronze" by Auguste Rodin at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia, on Sept 11, 2018. (THE' N.PHAM/THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT VIA AP)

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.

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.

Bobby Suggs, 69, checks his medications while waiting in a shelter for Hurricane Florence to pass after evacuating from his Myrtle Beach home, in Conway, South Carolina, Sept 12, 2018. (DAVID GOLDMAN / AP)

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."

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