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Hurricane Florence has been downgraded to a Category 2 storm but it is still being considered an extremely dangerous and life-threatening storm, US officials said. Faced with new forecasts that showed a more southerly threat, Georgia's governor joined his counterparts in Virginia and North and South Carolina in declaring a state of emergency, and some residents who had thought they were safely out of range boarded up their homes.
President Donald Trump says protecting lives is his "absolute highest priority" as Hurricane Florence, now a Category 2 storm, sets its 40-kilometers-wide eye on the southeastern U.S. coast. "We'll handle it.
People who thought they were safe from the onslaught of Hurricane Florence began boarding up and Georgia's governor declared a state of emergency Wednesday as uncertainty over the path of the monster storm spread worry along the Southeastern coast. Closing in with terrifying winds of 125 mph and potentially catastrophic rain and storm surge, Florence is expected to blow ashore Saturday morning along the North Carolina-South Carolina line, the National Hurricane Center said.
The latest track from the National Hurricane Center shows Florence has slightly weakened as a Category 3 hurricane, but it's still packing a punch as it makes its way to the Carolinas. According to NHC's 8 p.m. update, Florence is moving northwest at about 16 mph with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph.
Fears about Hurricane Florence spread south on Wednesday, with Georgia declaring a state of emergency after officials in the Carolinas urged people to evacuate the coast ahead of the storm's expected pounding winds and rain-driven floods. Florence weakened slightly to a Category 3 storm on a five-step scale but had maximum sustained winds of 125 miles per hour as of 2 p.m. EDT , down from 130 mph earlier in the day.
People who thought they were safe from the onslaught of Hurricane Florence began boarding up and Georgia's governor declared a state of emergency Wednesday as uncertainty over the path of the monster storm spread worry along the Southeastern coast. Closing in with terrifying winds of 130 mph and potentially catastrophic rain and storm surge, Florence is expected to blow ashore Saturday morning along the North Carolina-South Carolina line, the National Hurricane Center said.
Hurricane Florence is expected to being heavy rain and strong winds to the coasts of North and South Carolina as early as Thursday, the National Hurricane Center is forecasting . Experts predict that the storm could bring rainfall up to 40 inches and up to 13 feet of floodwater in some areas.
Trump administration officials pushed back Wednesday against a Democratic senator's claim that nearly $10 million from the government's disaster relief agency was transferred to immigration enforcement. Sen. Jeff Merkley's claim, which came as a monster hurricane barreled toward the Carolinas, was quickly branded by Homeland Security as "a sorry attempt to push a false agenda."
With a powerful hurricane bearing down on the Southeast coast, President Donald Trump on Tuesday turned attention back to the federal government's response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico a year ago, deeming it "incredibly successful" even though a recent federal report found that nearly 3,000 people died. The administration's efforts in Puerto Rico received widespread criticism.
The Latest on Hurricane Florence : 3:30 p.m. President Donald Trump says the safety of the American people is his "absolute highest priority" as Hurricane Florence takes aim at portions of the East Coast. Trump was being briefed by the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
Hurricane Florence as seen from the ISS on Monday morning, Photo Date: 9/10/18 / Photo: Ricky Arnold / ISS / Forecasters at the University of Michigan predict that 2.4 million people will lose power from Hurricane Florence and some outages could be prolonged. That's about one-fourth the number who suffered outages from Hurricane Sandy, which hit a more populated area around New Jersey in 2012.
With a powerful hurricane bearing down on the southeast coast, President Donald Trump on Tuesday turned attention back to the federal government's response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico a year ago, deeming it "incredibly successful" even though a recent federal report found that nearly 3,000 people died. The administration's efforts in Puerto Rico received widespread criticism.
Just months ago, disaster planners simulated a Category 4 hurricane strike alarmingly similar to the real-word scenario now unfolding on a dangerously vulnerable stretch of the East Coast. A fictional "Hurricane Cora" barreled into southeast Virginia and up the Chesapeake Bay to strike Washington, D.C., in the narrative created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Argonne National Laboratory.
Officials at FEMA are warning that Florence's impact will be far-reaching and recovery will take more than just days. As Hurricane Florence churns toward the East Coast with catastrophic power, the storm has become a reminder of how vulnerable North Carolina's coast is.
Washington's congressional delegates, land management agency officials and local political leaders celebrated the Columbia Land Trust's decade of work to conserve 20,000 acres of forestland near Mount St. Helens. Several speakers at Monday's event described the Mount St. Helens Forest Conservation project as an example of successful collaboration by different groups around a large and challenging goal.
The approaching danger presented by Hurricane Florence and the damage caused by Tropical Storm Gordon serve as reminders that September is the most active month for these kinds of powerful storms. And yet, FEMA Administrator Brock Long has warned that the United States doesn't have a "culture of preparedness,'' even after being hammered in 2017 by Harvey, Irma and Maria, the first time three Category 4 hurricanes made landfall in U.S. territory on the same year.
Gov. Henry McMaster on Sunday urged all South Carolina residents, whether they live on the coast or further inland, to make preparations for the potential devastation Hurricane Florence could bring to the state with an expected Thursday landfall. "I'd say get ready.
Emergency officials are urging residents to prepare for severe storms that are forecast to hit the East Coast and Hawaii over the next week at what is the peak of this year's hurricane season. Coming in from the Atlantic Ocean, Tropical Storm Florence is expected to make landfall Thursday as a level 3 hurricane or greater, steered by winds that could guide it as far south as Florida or as far north as New England.
Thank you for Reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in or create an account to continue reading. This enhanced satellite image made available by NOAA shows Tropical Storm Florence, center, in the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday, Sept.