Hurricane Florence made landfall in North Carolina shortly after 7 a.m. Thursday, but had already caused massive flooding and left hundreds of thousands without power as the storm approached overnight.
The storm was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane late Thursday night, but flooding was quickly becoming the major issue. North Carolina towns New Bern, Havelock, Morehead City, and others along the coast are all under a flash flood warning until 1 p.m., according to the National Weather Service in Morehead City.
[Related: Trump faces big test on Hurricane Florence]
Flash Flood Warning continues for New Bern NC, Havelock NC, Morehead City NC until 1:00 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/CHn3SMLuzA
— NWS Newport/Morehead (@NWSMoreheadCity) September 14, 2018
The storm’s slow movement was expected to make things worse, allowing more rain to be dumped in the area.
Meanwhile, there were more than 320,000 known power outages as of early Friday morning as storm winds reached almost 100 mph.
Hurricane-force winds and more than 10 feet of storm surge flooding have left 100 people in New Bern waiting to be rescued, CBS reported. According to police, between 150 and 200 have already been rescued from the small town.
Earlier in the week, a mandatory evacuation order was issued for New Bern, but many didn’t listen.
“If anybody could help… our cars is under water and so is our house stuck in attic. Phone about to die please send help to 611 Watson ave, new bern. NC,” a resident of New Bern tweeted at 1:33 a.m. Friday.
If anybody could help… our cars is under water and so is our house stuck in attic. Phone about to die please send help to 611 Watson ave, new bern. NC
— bree (@Breeanna_xoxo) September 14, 2018
The hurricane warning reaches from South Santee River in South Carolina to Duck, N.C.
[New: Trump praises FEMA, first responders as Hurricane Florence makes landfall]
