1.7 million residents had to evacuate as hurricane Florence approached

WILMINGTON, N.-C. – Coastal residents fleeing a potentially devastating blow from Hurricane Florence encountered empty gas pumps and stale shop shelves as the storm approached the Carolina coast.

While some said they planned to stay in place despite hurricane watches and warnings about homes of more than 5.4 million people on the East Coast, many took no chances.

A steady stream of vehicles filled with people and goods sank Tuesday inland and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper tried to convince everyone to flee.

"The waves and the wind that this storm can bring are nothing like what you've seen before. Even if you have already faced storms, this one is different. Do not bet your life on a monster, he said.

Forecasters said Florence had to blow up late Thursday or early Friday, then slow down and dump 1 to 2½ feet of rain that could cause inland floods and cause environmental damage by washing industrial and industrial waste sites. hog farms.

President Trump has declared state of emergency for North and South Carolina and Virginia, paving the way for federal aid. He said the federal government was "absolutely, totally prepared" for Florence.

The three states ordered mass evacuations along the coast. But getting out of danger could be difficult.

On Tuesday, Michelle Stober loaded valuables at her home in Wrightsville Beach to bring them back to her main home in Cary, NC. It was difficult to find fuel for the trip.

"This morning I drove for an hour in search of gas in Cary, everyone was full," she said.

Florence is so wide that a deadly storm wave was pushed 300 miles from her eye, and so wet that a band from South Carolina to Pennsylvania could be flooded.

Locals rushed to buy bottled water and other supplies, ride home, take their boats out of the water and out of the city.

Long lines were formed at the gas stations and some began running out of gas in the west until Raleigh, with bright yellow bags, panels or rags placed on the pumps to indicate that They were out of use. Some store shelves have been cleaned.

"There is no water. There is no juice. There are no preserves, "said Kristin Harrington while she was shopping at Walmart in Wilmington.

People were not the only ones to evacuate to get out of Hurricane Florence. Eight dogs and 18 cats from a shelter in Norfolk, Virginia, were sent to two shelters in Washington, DC, to make room for the pets that the hurricane would have moved.

At 11 pm, the storm was centered 670 miles southeast of Cape Fear, NS, traveling at 17 hours per hour. This was a potentially catastrophic Category 4 storm, but it was expected to continue to draw hot water and intensify to move closer to Category 5, ie say winds of 157 m / h. or more.

"It really scares me," said National Hurricane Center director Ken Graham.

Florence is the most dangerous of the three tropical systems of the Atlantic. Tropical Storm Isaac was east of the Lesser Antilles and was expected to move south to Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and Cuba, while Hurricane Helene was moving away from the land. Forecasters also followed two other disturbances.

The coastal wave of Florence could leave the eastern tip of North Carolina under 9 feet of water in places, according to projections.

Rain measured in feet "seems likely," he said.

"This storm will bring power days in weeks. It will destroy the infrastructure. It will destroy homes, "said Jeff Byard, an official with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

According to forecasters, parts of North Carolina could receive 50 centimeters of rain, if not more, with 25 centimeters elsewhere in the state and in Virginia, parts of Maryland and Washington.

A reliable computer model, the European simulation, predicted more than 45 inches in parts of North Carolina. A year ago, people would have laughed at such a forecast, but the European model was accurate in predicting 60 inches for Hurricane Harvey in the Houston area, so "you start to wonder what that these models know we are not doing "Brian McNoldy, hurricane specialist at the University of Miami, said.

Rain measured in feet "seems likely," he said.

The planned trajectory of Florence includes half a dozen nuclear power plants, pits containing ash coal and other industrial wastes, as well as many pig farms that store animal waste in large lagoons.

Duke Energy spokesman Ryan Mosier said the operators would begin shutting down their nuclear power plants at least two hours before the hurricane force winds hit.

The governor of North Carolina has issued what he calls a one-of-a-kind mandatory evacuation order for North Carolina's fragile barrier islands across the coast. As a rule, local governments in North Carolina call for evacuations.

"We have not seen anyone and we have seen hurricanes before," said Cooper, "but this one is different."

Even so, 65-year-old Liz Browning Fox plans to deal with the storm in the village of Buxton, North Carolina, outside the Order of Banks, despite a mandatory evacuation order. Her 88-year-old mother refused to evacuate and will stay with her.

"Everyone who stays here is either a real old timer, or someone who does not know where it would be better, or someone involved in emergency operations in one way or another," Fox said. .