The Hurricane Florence Pass: Closure on the Carolina Coast

• The authorities have made the ultimate effort to put everyone out of harm's way – "Do not risk your life by chasing a monster," said North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper – but hurricanes that do not harm the world. have never fled were determined ignore the warnings. Read why they stay.

• North Carolina lawmakers are facing new criticism for a 2012 law that required agencies to ignore the rising sea level caused by climate change. The law has allowed the rapid development of the coastline to continue. "We were ready to take up our responsibilities and look into this problem in the long run," said Stanley Riggs, a retired research professor at East Carolina University. "And we blew it up." Learn more about the controversy here.

Try to chase the obstacles of the hurricane

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Federal, state and local authorities, who have already spent days warning the people of Florence of the potential gravity of the storm, on Wednesday issued some of their most outspoken demands for people to escape danger.

"We know that many of our coastal residents have already faced storms," ​​North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper told a news conference on Wednesday night. "It should not be one of those storms. Do not risk your life by riding a monster.

In South Carolina, Governor Henry McMaster said some 300,000 people had already responded to the evacuation call, and that he expected one million people to flee Florence, from as much as the state forecasts.

"This is a dangerous storm," Governor McMaster said. "It's unpredictable."

Will Haynie, Mayor of Mount Pleasant, SC, said residents of his town just off the coast should leave as soon as possible.

"You have the power to introduce some degree of certainty in this situation, and that is taking into account the evacuation order," he said. "When you choose to leave and go, you have more control over your destiny than if you choose to stay here."

Charleston device decides to leave

The former mayor of Charleston, SC, Joseph P. Riley Jr., who served 10 terms from 1975 to 2016, decided to give the example to his former constituents when leaving the city with his wife, Charlotte .

Many of their neighbors had chosen to stay put, he said, estimating that they could face a few meters of storm surge. But Riley, 75, said on Wednesday that he and his wife had decided to roll rugs, put them on the second floor and go out. There were just too many possibilities that worried him.

"Our children have grown up and they are separated," said Riley. "And then we have my sister-in-law who lives in Camden. She is always happy to see us and it's nice to visit.

The current mayor of Charleston, John Tecklenburg, echoed these reflections, urging the population to avoid the heavy rains, wind and floods expected in his city in the coming days. "It will be a lousy weekend here," he said, "and it will be a good weekend to be somewhere else".

Power concerns before the storm

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Duke Energy estimated that up to three million people were at risk of losing energy, based on previous storm modeling and Florence's projected trajectory. This figure would be about 75% of the more than four million customers of the company in North Carolina and South Carolina.

"People could be without electricity for a very long time," said David Fountain, president of Duke Energy North Carolina.

The company said about 20,000 workers were ready to respond to the storm, including 1,700 other Midwest Duke workers, 1,200 Florida workers and 9,400 workers from other services as far away as Texas.

The company said it was also monitoring the Brunswick nuclear power plant, located near Wilmington, North Carolina, which could face strong winds, heavy storm surges and rain. In Brunswick and several other factories, the workers secured the debris and inspected the equipment in anticipation of Florence's arrival.

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