Hurricane Florence: Three dead as storm mauls Carolinas

Summary

Wind and rain are whipping North Carolina's coast, after the storm made landfall
Authorities have confirmed at least three deaths linked to the storm
Evacuation warnings are in place for up to 1.7 million people across South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia
Eight months' worth of rain is expected to fall in three days
Serious flooding is still expected even though it has been downgraded to a tropical storm with 70mph (110km/h) winds

Live Reporting

Ritu Prasad

What makes Florence so dangerous?published at 20:07 British Summer Time 13 September 2018
Image source, Reuters
Forecasters say the storm poses such a threat because it is expected to slow down and hover for nearly two days over the Carolina coast, before dipping south towards Georgia.
It is forecasted to bring 20-40in (50-100cm) of rain and life-threatening storm surges of up to 13ft (4m).
National Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham warned that waterways up to 40 miles (64km) inland may flood.
He added that half of the fatalities during hurricanes are caused by storm surges, and another quarter of deaths are due to inland rains and flooding.
Flooding begins along coastlinepublished at 20:00 British Summer Time 13 September 2018
Coastal towns in North Carolina are already beginning to see flooding as Hurricane Florence approaches, with waves reaching homes and businesses along the beaches.
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'Time is running out' as Florence nearspublished at 19:58 British Summer Time 13 September 2018
Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
New Bern, North Carolina
Hurricane Florence, currently a category two storm with wind speeds of 105mph (165km/h) is slowly moving towards the US East Coast and is due to make landfall in the Carolinas on Friday morning.
On Thursday, officials said that although the storm's maximum wind speed had dipped, its wind field had expanded and total rainfall predictions remained unchanged.
It remains a "very dangerous storm" that could kill "a lot of people", according to Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) administrator Brock Long
He said "feet of rain not inches" are expected to drench the Carolinas and Virginia.