At least five deaths have been reported in North Carolina as of Friday evening as Hurricane Florence brought fierce winds and torrential rain to the state.
Among those killed were a Wilmington mother and her infant, who police said were killed when a tree fell on their house. The father was rescued from the home and taken to a local hospital with injuries.
Another death occurred while someone was plugging in a generator in the rain. A 77-year-old man died when he was “blown down by the wind” while tending to his dogs. A woman died of a heart attack when emergency crews were unable to reach her because trees had fallen in the road.
“Our hearts go out to the families of those who died in this storm,” Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement. “Hurricane Florence is going to continue its violent grind across our state for days. Be extremely careful and stay alert.”
As of 10 p.m., more than 780,000 residents statewide were without power, though Florence had been downgraded to a tropical storm earlier in the day.
The National Weather service warned residents in the storm’s path that flash flooding was expected through early next week. By 4 p.m. Friday, more than 19 inches of rain had fallen in some parts of North Carolina with wind gusts reaching up to 112 miles per hour.
The governors of North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Georgia declared states of emergency earlier this week in preparation for the then-Category 1 storm.
President Trump is planning to visit the areas affected by the storm next week. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the president will travel south “once it is determined his travel will not disrupt any rescue or recovery efforts.”
Trump encouraged government workers and first responders to “finish strong” as they rescued residents from flooding.
Great job FEMA, First Responders and Law Enforcement – not easy, very dangerous, tremendous talent. America is proud of you. Keep it all going – finish strong!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 15, 2018
The president’s Twitter feed was filled with warnings about the hurricane, while also casting doubt on the death toll of last year’s major hurricane that ravaged Puerto Rico.
“When Trump visited the island territory last October, OFFICIALS told him in a briefing 16 PEOPLE had died from Maria.” The Washington Post. This was long AFTER the hurricane took place. Over many months it went to 64 PEOPLE. Then, like magic, “3000 PEOPLE KILLED.” They hired….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 15, 2018
….GWU Research to tell them how many people had died in Puerto Rico (how would they not know this?). This method was never done with previous hurricanes because other jurisdictions know how many people were killed. FIFTY TIMES LAST ORIGINAL NUMBER – NO WAY!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 15, 2018
On Thursday, without evidence, Trump accused Democrats of inflating the number of deaths in Puerto Rico to hurt him politically.
Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosello formally raised the death toll to 2,975 from 64 after an independent study was conducted by George Washington University researchers.
