A record flood is expected as Florence slowly crosses the Carolinas

LUMBERTON, N.C. – The storm known as Florence creates a slow-motion natural disaster in the Carolinas, which could be deadly dead when swollen rivers and streams overflow their banks and continue to rise.

The hurricane, now downgraded to a tropical storm, was blamed by at least five people on Friday night. Although Florence did not arrive with winds as violent as once feared, forecasters corrected the storm surge and precipitation.

They said that this event is all about water – that the storm has delivered in devastating amounts.

The storm landed in Wilmington, North Carolina, in the darkness of dawn on Friday as a Category 1 hurricane. While the storm was at the edge of the Atlantic, some sections of the Carolina coast received nearly 20 inches of rain.

Florence is expected to migrate barely more than one step through the north of South Carolina, passing near Florence – really – Saturday. According to experts, the greatest danger is the flooding of streams and, once the remnants of the storm reach the southern Appalachian relief, flash floods, mudslides and flows debris.

Relief will not come quickly. The National Meteorological Service said the floods will probably last for weeks. This is a dangerous moment for the hundreds of thousands of people who have traveled on the roads to escape the fury of the storm. The rivers are in most cases several days after the ridge.

The regions of the country still on the path of the storm have been saturated by the summer rains and can not absorb any surplus from Florence. The National Weather Service predicts that more than a dozen major rivers in the Carolinas and southern Virginia will reach the flood level and that some floods, including the Neuse, Pamlico, Lumber, Waccamaw, Northeast Cape rivers Fear and Pee Dee, should occur recordings

There is really nowhere to go to the water.

"We are in the hands of God," said Westlumberton Baptist Church pastor Rick Foreman, as the Lumber River rose regularly on Friday and local residents filled sandbags. "We all know that."

The weather service has forecast that the timber will reach a significant flood stage on Saturday and that it will continue to rise until Sunday. State Senator Danny Britt (R) has called on Facebook to have volunteers fill sandbags and, with the help of 40 National Guard members, block a problematic railroad canal during flooding.

"Soon, a hundred of my closest friends helped us," Britt said. "60 km / h winds, shingles flying away from home, and they work here for everyone."

The river flooded the city after Hurricane Matthew two years ago: a parishioner from the church drowned during the storm, more than 700 families were displaced and two of the largest social housing units in the city city ​​were destroyed.

And while a pouring rain fell on Friday, locals worked in soaked t-shirts and shorts to try to avoid another disaster.

Usually hurricanes so far north deliver their punch and leave the city quickly. Florence has been a strange tropical cyclone since it materialized in the far Atlantic and has taken an unusual path towards the continental United States. On Friday afternoon, he was driving only 3 to 5 mph, still near the coast.

"There is nothing to lead. It's all about directional currents. We do not have one right now, "said Ken Graham, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami. "It's like a bubble without wind, it just floats. You do not want slowness, but that's what we have.

Governor of South Carolina Henry McMaster (R) insisted on patience, saying his state had never seen "a hurricane last so long."

Russ Lewis searches for seashells along the beach as Florence approaches Myrtle Beach, S.C. on Friday, September 14th. (David Goldman / AP)

The coast has been battered and the mountains seem to be next. The remains of Florence are expected to reach the summits of western North Carolina in a few days. Joel Cline, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center, said mountains would twist tropical moist water: "It's like crashing into a wall, and that moisture has to go somewhere, and it's raining and raining. . region."

Cline said July was the wettest in the whole of North Carolina and that the water table was 21 inches higher than normal. Florence could add another 6 to 10 inches of rain this weekend. Flash floods can occur in minutes of heavy rain as the water slopes.

"You are evacuating water," said Cline. "That's why we preached to people that you need to get away from the water."

The Appalachian University in Boone canceled its first home football game scheduled for Saturday.

"It's not often that we have to prepare for a hurricane in the mountains, but we do it on our campus," wrote Jason Marshburn, director of safety and emergency management at the university.

The remains of Florence are expected to continue moving north and then northeast, and they could drop several inches of rain in eastern Tennessee and eastern Kentucky, southwestern Virginia, Virginia Western and Pennsylvania. Flash floods are also a threat in these states.

The Carolinas are aware of the hurricane-related floods, having known Matthew two years ago and Floyd in 1999. Floyd, like Florence, hit Wilmington directly and dumped record amounts of rain. The rivers swelled not only with water but also with the carcasses of cattle. A number of motorists died while trying to cross the moving water.

Where the refrain Friday of emergency management officials: turn around, do not drown.

"The storm is wreaking havoc in our state and we are deeply concerned about farms, businesses, schools and even entire communities that could be destroyed," said North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (D) .

The wall of Florence's eye hit the coast before dawn. At 5:30 pm, a reporter at a downtown Wilmington hotel heard the sound of hurricanes, a heavy, low buzz associated with an almost musical high note.

Eight-foot waves, a local record, ruffled the surface of the Cape Fear River. At 6 am, the electronics slammed for a moment while the power was off. The buildings oscillated for several hours. The wind in Wilmington climbed to 105 km / h, the strongest since Hurricane Helene on September 27, 1958, the Weather Service reported.

The winds became less violent as the eye, which was no longer well formed but was raining, passed over the city after touching the ground at 7:15. The trees fell, along with power lines and streets filled with debris. A downtown Waffle House was open for a few hours – only sandwiches, no coffee – before closing at noon.

Metal signs and roofs covered the largest commercial artery, Market Street, and trees blocked many roads. The traffic lights were off. Residents mostly listened to police orders to stay home and get out of the street.

In Kinston, a town southeast of Raleigh, two people died in the storm. According to Roger Dail, director of emergency services in Lenoir County, a 78-year-old man connecting extensions in the rain was electrocuted. And a 77-year-old man died when he was hit by the wind, he said.

In Pender County, officials said that a woman had died of a heart attack Friday morning while emergency teams had tried to reach her. they were delayed because of fallen trees and debris on the road. Crews attempted to move debris with a front-end loader, but a tree went through the windshield, causing further delays, officials said.

"Our hearts go to the families of those who died in this storm," Cooper said in a statement. "Hurricane Florence will continue for several days in our state. Be extremely careful and stay alert.

Sullivan reported from Wilmington, N.C. Berman and Achenbach reported from Washington. Jason Samenow and Angela Fritz in Washington and Lori Rozsa in Miami, Rachel Siegel in Jacksonville, NC, Sharon Dunten in Savannah, GA, Ray Glier in Atlanta, Kristine Phillips in Myrtle Beach, SC and Sarah Kaplan in Lumberton.