The American Hurricane Center warned today that the federal states of North and South Carolina are threatened by "catastrophic" floods after the storm of Hurricane "Florence".
The hurricane weakened as it approached the coast and is now a Category XNUMX hurricane, but meteorologists are warning of heavy rains and flooding in parts of these states.
Officials said more than 400.000 people had left coastal areas yesterday and more than 4.000 had sought refuge in shelters.
Heavy rainfall accompanied by strong winds swept across North and South Carolina as Hurricane Florence moves closer to the US East Coast by the minute.
Rainfall that the outer rim of the hurricane brought to the coast covered the roads, and in some areas rivers overflowed. About 12.000 buildings, mostly on the North Carolina coast, were left without power.
Water surges between houses in Avon, North Carolina, as Hurricane Florence approaches the coast https://t.co/nmEipUlZ0E pic.twitter.com/9sbe07U386
- CNN (@CNN) September 14, 2018
"Although the hurricane has downgraded to a Category 2, it remains dangerous and unpredictable," the National Hurricane Center warned earlier. It is predicted that it will hit Cape Fir, North Carolina with all its force on Friday morning local time and will bring extremely heavy rainfall, reports Reuters. "Hurricane Florence was uninvited but almost arrived," North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said at a news conference.
He advised residents to remain cautious. "This is a powerful storm that can kill," he said. Florence is now classified as a Category 175 hurricane with winds of up to XNUMX kilometers per hour.
The US National Hurricane Center announced that the hurricane's winds will reach up to 315 kilometers from its center, which is why most of the US East Coast will be threatened. It is estimated that ten million people are at risk from the hurricane. It is expected that the sea will reach up to 13 meters, as well as up to 75 centimeters of rain. Officials in South and North Carolina are closing ports as Hurricane Florence approaches their coasts.
In North Carolina, the ports of Wilmington and Morehead were closed for commercial traffic, while in South Carolina, the port of Charleston was closed for container transportation, reports AP. Yesterday, US President Donald Trump said that protecting lives is the highest priority and urged those living in the path of the hurricane to evacuate. He added that Florence could be "one of the strongest hurricanes ever to hit the East Coast."
More than ten million residents in three American states have been warned of the danger of Hurricane Florence, the US National Weather Service announced. The power company "Duke Energy" announced that three-quarters of its four million customers in South and North Carolina could remain without electricity due to the hurricane, AP reports. The company also warned that the power outage could last for weeks.
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