Florence is battering the North Carolina coast – flooding beach town roads from the Outer Banks to Carolina Beach. Officials expect the shellacking to last through Friday and into Saturday.
The power outages started in earnest Thursday night. According to North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, thirty-thousand people lost power across the state as of 5 PM and that number continues to rise.
Cooper also points the worst of the storm is yet to come.
"With the extreme storm surge along the coast, rivers will start to overflow. Because when flowing river waters meet the ocean surge, there’s really nowhere else for the water to go. As Florence moves inland, we’ll see more rain and more flooding from our rivers. And remember that rivers keep on rising even after the rain stops."
At least 12,000 people have filled 126 shelters across the state. Officials plan to open more – including several so-called “mega-shelters”.
Meteorologist say conditions will deteriorate throughout the day Friday.
