The head of FEMA on Hurricane Florence saves: "That's why we ask you to leave"

As Hurricane Florence hit the Carolinas with a deadly storm surge, strong winds and relentless rains on Friday morning, FEMA Administrator Brock Long issued a stern warning: Although the storm has weakened to become a category 1 during the night, the main threat of a storm surge remained.

One of the most affected areas so far is New Bern, North Carolina, where residents were stranded after more than 10 feet of a powerful storm surge invaded the small coastal town. A mandatory evacuation order was issued for the region earlier this week.

Long used New Bern as an example to make a more important point on hurricane preparedness.

"We want people to listen to the warnings," said Long. "What's unfortunate is that these guys have to risk their lives to save people who have ignored warnings for whatever reason." We still have a long way to go In this culture of preparation and to help people understand what their risks are, how to mitigate their situation and try to communicate that is the reason why we ask you to leave.This is exactly the reason why we ask people to evacuate the sea. "

About 40 miles from New Bern, more than 60 people had to be pulled from a collapsed motel in Jacksonville, North Carolina at the height of the storm, according to CBS's subsidiary, WNCT-TV, in Greenville. Pieces of buildings torn by the storm flew through the air.

As of Friday morning, the storm was crawling at about 6 mph and could slow down further, making comparisons with Hurricane Harvey, which flooded Houston with water and paralyzed the city for weeks.

"It will be a frustrating event, you will see the infrastructure destroyed," said Long. "I think you could see similar flood damage that Floyd presented, which Joaquin presented in South Carolina … You will probably see a devastating impact on agriculture in eastern North Carolina."

The Governor of South Carolina, Henry McMaster, also issued a warning to those who challenged the evacuation orders and decided to stay behind.

"So, we told people that they decided to stay, at some point they will be alone and we may not be back – able to recover them until the end of the storm because there will be power lines everywhere there will be a lot of floods, there will be more floods with this hurricane and this storm all over the state that we think we've never had before. will have trees, there will be destroyed roads, and it will be difficult for rescuers to return, "McMaster said.