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Tropical storm Florence continues to rain torrential rains on the state as the system moves to South Carolina.
In short:
- Tropical Storm Florence touched the coast Friday morning in the form of a Category 1 hurricane and continued to weaken as it slowly moved inland.
- More than 810,000 customers are without electricity in North Carolina.
- Seven deaths – a woman from Pender County, a mother and child in Wilmington, two people in Lenoir County and two people in Carteret County – have been charged with the storm.
- More than 22,000 people fleeing the storm fled to 157 shelters open in the state.
- Many counties in southern North Carolina remain under tornado surveillance until 5 pm.
Latest updates
9:05: State officials said that 820,851 people were without electricity because of Florence.
8:57: Apex representatives indicated that part of Richardson Road was closed due to flooding on the bridge over Beaver Creek. Drivers are advised to avoid the area.
8:44: Harnett County has declared a mandatory evacuation along the Lower Little River near the Cumberland County line. The authorities stated that the National Weather Service predicted that the Lower Little River would reach 35.4 feet on Monday morning, 17 feet above flood level.
Relief officials were going door-to-door Saturday to inform residents of the evacuation. The county will open the Western Harnett High School at 10637 N.C., Highway 27 at Lillington, at noon, to accommodate the evacuees.
Residents are welcome to evacuate at 5 pm
8:41: Elizabeth Gardner, WRAL meteorologist, said Wayne County, particularly in the Goldsboro area, had recorded the heaviest rainfall so far, with 10 to 15 inches. She said the Neuse River will probably reach near-record flood levels next week, but the Tar River, which caused damage in Hurricane Matthew, will only experience minor flooding.
8:37: North Carolina Emergency Management reported that 813,519 people were without power in the state and that the largest number of outages had been reported in New Hanover counties, Brunswick, Columbus, Craven, Duplin, Onslow, Carteret, Cumberland, Moore , Wake and Sampson.
8:36: Authorities said the 911 system was deployed in Onslow County, hampering the necessary water rescues after a flood during the night. Officials said most of the county's roads were impassable because of fallen trees and power lines.
8:26: Cumberland County officials said a decision would be made Saturday afternoon on the desirability of placing a limited area in the county and Fayetteville under mandatory evacuation orders. Residents who live less than one mile from Little River or Cape Fear River are encouraged to evacuate voluntarily due to the risk of flooding.
The authorities said that 681 people remained in seven emergency shelters, although two of these shelters are without electricity.
8:25: Chatham County officials said the number of people in shelters in the county was down, with only 39 people evacuated on Saturday morning. About 6,100 people in the county remain without electricity.
8:14: A section of Interstate 40 between Exits 364 and 369 was closed in Wilmington following floods caused by Tropical Storm Florence. The road should reopen on Monday.
7:59: Officials from Sampson County said that a person had been saved when a vehicle had attempted to cross high water. The person was safe and the vehicle was moved to the side of the road.
7:43Jacksonville officials are looking for volunteers with flat-bottomed boats to help the city's water rescue team as teams work to save people stranded at home following the floods. Anyone who can offer a boat to help should say 910-938-5200,
7:39: A high-water rescue was reported at Newton Grove, Sampson County, as a flash flood was triggered in southwestern Wayne County, North Sampson, and south-central Johnston.
Mount Olive, Newton Grove, Turkey, Hobbton and Spivey's Corner are some of the sites likely to be inundated.
7:16 p.m.: Crabtree Creek was rising in Raleigh and, although it did not reach the flood stage, a flash flood warning remains in effect until 11 o'clock.
7:02: A tornado watch was extended until 17 hours. for several counties, including Johnston, Harnett, Sampson, Wilson, Wayne, Cumberland and Hoke.
6:56: City officials in Raleigh said more than 65 trees had fallen on the city's roads.
6:42: There are still 786,769 non-power customers in North Carolina with the largest number of outages reported in New Hanover, Brunswick, Onslow, Carteret, Cumberland, Robeson, Sampson and Wake Counties.
6:31 am: Stephen Rea, Emergency Services Director for Carteret County, said two people died Friday morning on Harkers Island, following Florence. The authorities did not say how people died. The total number of deaths caused by the storm is now seven.
6:15: Elizabeth Gardner, meteorologist at WRAL, said the rain conditions in parts of the observation area may be darker than Friday. Continuous rain, combined with gusts of wind, could result in the destruction of trees and power lines.
"The areas that have power now may not have the power by the end of the day," she said.
6:08: A flood advisory has been issued for Wake, Orange, Moore, Lee, Durham and Alamance counties until Saturday noon.
6:07: State officials said 782,909 people remained without electricity.
6 am: The National Hurricane Center said the life-threatening storm surge is expected to continue along the coast of North Carolina and that tropical storm conditions will continue along the coast and inland.
5:49 p.m.: Elizabeth Gardner, WRAL meteorologist, said some southern counties may continue to see 1 to 2 inches of rain per hour on Saturday.
5:38: Lindsey Listrom with the North Carolina Power Cooperatives, which handles power outages in 93 of the state's 100 counties, said the teams were up, but have to wait for the conditions to improve. to begin the restoration of food.
"The conditions can really delay the start of our teams because we have to make sure our teams are safe," she said. "We're just watching the storm and as soon as the teams can come in and make repairs, they'll do it."
5:26: With trees felled, power lines down and power outages, New Hanover County Sheriff calls the Florence suites "an absolutely dangerous situation." A curfew at the county level remains in effect until 6 am.
5:21 p.m.: An article on Facebook published by officials of Cape Lookout National Seashore shows that the only road to Harkers Island has been severely damaged by Florence. The North Carolina Transportation Department is aware of the problem and will try to find a solution on Saturday, officials said.
5:20 p.m.: A tornado warning has been canceled for Wayne County.
5:13 p.m.: Cross Brook in Fayetteville begins to swell as the water approaches the shoreline. The brook feeds the Cape Fear River, which is expected to reach the flood stage next week due to Florence's rainfall.
5:04: Officials said 780,390 are without power across the state.
5:03: A tornado warning was issued for Wayne County until 5:45 pm. A tornado warning issued to Lenoir County was allowed to expire.
4:56 p.m.: Tropical storm warnings were canceled for Franklin, Nash and Edgecombe counties. The warning remains in effect for the Counties of Chatham, Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Johnston, Lee, Moore, Richmond, Sampson, Scotland, Wake, Wayne and Wilson.
16h45: Flood waters begin to collapse in New Bern, where hundreds of people had to be rescued on Friday as parts of the city were under water.
The rain in New Bern has stopped, at least for the moment, and the focus will soon be on cleaning the felled trees and power lines.
4:38: Durham Drive is closed in Raleigh as floodwater floods the road.
4:37 a.m .: A tornado warning is in effect for Lenoir County until 5 o'clock in the morning.
4:33: Elizabeth Gardner, Meteorologist at WRAL, said that even though the center of tropical storm Florence is in South Carolina, North Carolina will continue to suffer from rain, especially in southern counties.
16h30: According to NOAA, Neuse at Kinston could reach near-record levels in the middle of the week and could continue to climb.
4:22: WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said an extra 5 inches of rain is possible all day Saturday in Raleigh and that 9 inches of extra rain is possible in Fayetteville.
Gardner said the Cape Fear River, which is currently at 2.4 feet, is expected to hit 22.9 feet on Monday. The flood level of the river is 14 feet.
4:12 a.m .: At least 170 roads are completely or partially closed in Wilmington due to trees and power lines being cut down.
4:09: The Fairview Fire Department crews were working to move a huge tree that was blocking the intersection of Cedric Drive and Woodmill Run in Wake County. The road is the only way to get in or out of a neighboring neighborhood.
4 o'clock in the morning: Mike Moss, Meteorologist at WRAL, said that Tropical Storm Florence continues to move southwest at 5 mph and that it has experienced winds of 60 mph.
"With the wet soil and heavy rains that could still occur, it could lead to the fall of some trees and maybe even blackouts," said Moss.
The center of the storm is above eastern South Carolina, but rains continue to fall throughout the state and are particularly strong in southern counties.
Since midnight, peak gusts have reached 32 mph in Raleigh and 47 mph in Fayetteville. For the remainder of the day, wind gusts could reach about 38 mph in Wake County and up to 50 mph in southern counties. These speeds will remain constant until winds weaken Sunday.
Mr. Moss said that a tornado watch remains in effect for the counties located south and east of the triangle until 7 am and that tropical storm warnings remain in effect for much of the state.
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