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Florence downgraded as she claims five lives

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Hurricane Florence seen from the International Space Station Pic: @astro_ricky/@space_station

by sky news

Key points:
  • Hurricane Florence hit the US at 7.15am ET (12.15pm BST) but was later downgraded to a tropical storm
  • 600,000 homes without power in the Carolinas
  • Five people are confirmed dead
  • Forecasters warn of catastrophic flooding from massive storm surges
  • Super Typhoon Mangkhut hits the Philippines

Five people have now been confirmed dead in the Carolinas:
:: A mother and her baby died when a tree fell on their home in Wilmington, North Carolina
:: In Pender County, a woman died of a heart attack; paramedics trying to reach her were blocked by debris
:: Two people died in Lenoir County. A 78-year-old man was electrocuted attempting to connect extension cords while another man was killed when he was blown down by high winds while checking on his hunting dogs.

People sit at a bar that has no power and drink during a “Hurricane Party” as Florence blasts Wilmington, North Carolina:
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Riverbanks Zoo, in Columbia, South Carolina, relocated most of its bird population in preparation for the storm. See how they did it:

Tom Cheshire, Sky’s Asia correspondent, is in the Philippines and says he has seen reports storm surges could reach 6 metres.
The winds and rain were very strong, he says. Signs have been knocked down and power grids destroyed, he adds.
He says it’s still dark there so difficult to assess the full extent of the damage.

The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Florence is expected to weaken overnight.
It currently sits about 25 miles northeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with maximum sustained winds of 70mph.

Many roads are closed in Wilmington due to fallen trees:
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Waffle House in Wilmington is still open, despite trees falling down around it.
ABC reported earlier this week that the status of Waffle Houses is among the tools the Federal Emergency Management Agency informally uses on the ground to monitor hurricanes.
The Georgia-based chain is proud of having its 1,500 locations open 24/7, 365 days a year, despite most of them being in areas vulnerable to hurricanes, tropical storms and flooding. So if Waffle House is closed in a particular town, you probably don’t want to be there.
FEMA administrator Craig Fugate told NPR in 2016: “If a Waffle House is closed because there’s a disaster, it’s bad. We call it red. If they’re open but have a limited menu, that’s yellow. If the Waffle House is open, everything’s good.”
Waffle House is reportedly flattered.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper says of Hurricane Florence: “It’s an uninvited brute who doesn’t want to leave.”
Mr Cooper adds that the hurricane is “wreaking havoc” and could wipe out entire communities as it makes its “violent grind across our state for days”.
Parts of North Carolina have seen storm surges (the bulge of seawater pushed ashore by the hurricane) as high as 10ft, he adds.

US president Donald Trump is expected to travel to areas hit by Hurricane Florence next week, once it has been determined that his travel will not disrupt any rescue or recovery efforts, the White House has said.

The best view of the hurricane is undoubtedly from the team in the International Space Station. Take a look at the Earth as the storm hit the US this morning…

The latest on the Hurricane Florence:
How big is it? About 340 miles wide, with hurricane winds spanning 70 miles
How much rain has fallen? Roughly 15 inches (38cm) north of Swansboro, North Carolina, where rain has been heaviest
How big is the storm surge? Up to 13 feet (nearly 4 metres)
How quickly is it moving? It is nearly at a standstill – just 5mph
How many people have left their homes? 12,000 people are in shelters in North Carolina, 6,400 in South Carolina and 400 in Virginia and more than 400 people have been rescued from high waters in New Bern and Jacksonville, North Carolina
What is the damage? Estimated at up to $60bn (£46bn) in economic damages

There are also reports that another person has been killed during the hurricane while trying to plug in a generator in Lenoir County.
CBS has attributed the information to North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s office. There are no further details.

In Pender County, North Carolina, a woman has died after she suffered a heart attack and paramedics were unable to reach her due to blocked roads, authorities have said.
But the official death toll from the hurricane stands at two – the woman and baby killed by the falling tree in Wilmington.

Kevin DiLoreto lives in Wilmington and is waiting at home for the storm to pass.
He said all roads leading to his neighbourhood were blocked by fallen trees.
He told Reuters: “Everybody laughs at the fact that this storm got downgraded … but I’ve never seen tree devastation this bad.
“Afterwards, I’m going to drink a bottle of whiskey and take a two-day nap, but right now I’m walking the neighbourhood and making sure my neighbours are fine, because nobody can get in here.”

These are members of FEMA’s Urban Search and Rescue Task Force from California.
They are pictured searching a flooded area for evacuees in Fairfield Harbour, North Carolina.
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It isn’t clear whether the two deaths in Wilmington are connected to the incident we posted a photo from earlier (where the man was being rescued).
That incident involved three people trapped, one of whom was the man, who was reported to have been in a critical condition.
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Here is the tweet from police in Wilmington confirming the news:

Police say a mother and baby have been killed by a tree – the first Hurricane Florence victims

Rescue operations in River Bend, North Carolina:

Florence is not over yet…

Typhoon Mangkhut has arrived on the northeastern coast of the Philippines.
Witnesses say wind and rain have ripped off tin roof sheets and knocked down power lines in the early hours of the onslaught.
Currently affected is the northern tip of the main Luzon island, an agricultural region of flood-prone plains and mountain provinces often hit by landslides.
More than 5 million people are at risk from the storm, which is categorised as a super typhoon.

This is a screengrab of Flight Radar 24’s website. You can see that planes are avoiding the area affected by Hurricane Florence:
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Officials in the Philippine have confirmed the arrival of Typhoon Mangkhut on the country’s northeastern coast.

Typhoon Mangkhut has made landfall in Philippines, according to a forecaster

The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Florence is about 35 miles east-northeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with maximum sustained winds of 75mph.

The National Weather Service says 14 to 15 inches of rain has already fallen north of Swansboro, North Carolina and it’s only going to get worse…

A hovercraft takes people to safety in New Bern, North Carolina, after Hurricane Florence deluges the area with rain.

Meanwhile, Philippine authorities have evacuated more areas and warned an estimated 5.2 million people to stay indoors, as Super Typhoon Mangkhut gets closer.
It is expected to hit the northern tip of the county on Saturday morning, with 127mph wind speeds, and gusts of up to 158mph, that it has maintained since it struck Micronesia earlier in the week.
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Flights are grounded at several airports in the US due to the hurricane:
Between the storm’s approach on Wednesday and midday Friday, more than 2,100 US flights have been cancelled, according to tracking service FlightAware.
The region’s two largest airports, in Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, had more than 200 cancellations on Friday.
The Federal Aviation Administration says Charleston International Airport in South Carolina isn’t expected to reopen until Monday night. Wilmington International in North Carolina expects to reopen at midday on Saturday.

18 TRILLION – That’s the number of gallons (or 68 trillion litres) of rain expected to fall over the week in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Maryland.
That’s according to meteorologist Ryan Maue of weathermodels.com
That’s enough water to cover the entire state of Texas with nearly 10cm of water!
How does this compare to past hurricanes?
Harvey in Texas and Louisiana last year was 25 trillion gallons
Floyd 19 years ago in the Carolinas was 5.2 trillion gallons
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This is the scene at Cherry Grove Fishing Pier, North Myrtle Beach, as Hurricane Florence continues to batter the North Carolina and South Carolina coastlines:
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Earlier we showed you a photo of a man being rescued after a tree hit his house in Wilmington.
The man is in critical condition and this is what his home looked like:
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Records are being broken in North Carolina: 

In Richlands, North Carolina, an assisted living facility has had its roof cave in and the high school has been flooded

More than 13,000 people are living without electricity in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, due to the hurricane: 

This Wilmington man was rescued after a large tree fell on his home:
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The National Weather Center in the US says: “The main heavy rain focus with Hurricane Florence is expected to shift to the primary rain band east of its center, which shows little motion.

“Catastrophic flash flooding is expected to continue to worsen today.”

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