‘Catastrophic’ freshwater flooding expected over Carolinas

The National Hurricane Center said early Friday that Florence was about to make landfall in North Carolina bringing with it life-threatening storm surge and hurricane strength winds. The powerful storm already has inundated coastal streets with ocean water and left tens of thousands without power, and forecasters say that "catastrophic" freshwater flooding is expected over portions of the Carolinas as Hurricane Florence inches closer to the U.S. East Coast.

The Latest: N. Carolina city has 150 people awaiting rescue

The Goose Creek shelter is one of the primary shelters for many Charleston area residents who have evacuated their homes in response to approaching tropical weather in South Carolina. A North Carolina city situated between two rivers says it has around 150 people waiting to be rescued from rising flood waters from Hurricane Florence.

Pres. Trump rejects official Puerto Rico hurricane death toll

The Latest on President Donald Trump's claim that 3,000 people did not die because of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico last year : Rep. Gerald Connolly of Virginia says that if Democrats win back the House they will investigate the "failures of FEMA and the response of the administration" after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Connolly is a senior member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Time running out’ for residents to escape Hurricane Florence

US emergency officials have warned "time is running out" for people to escape from Hurricane Florence as outer bands of wind and rain began lashing North Carolina. Florence's winds have dropped from a peak of 140mph to 105mph, reducing the hurricane from a Category 4 to a Category 2. But forecasters warned that the widening storm - and the likelihood of it lingering around the coast for days - would bring seawater surging on to land and torrential downpours.

Trump admin ‘sparing no expense’ in hurricane relief

The administration said it has taken extensive steps to ensure all relevant federal agencies are prepared for Hurricane Florence, which hit North Carolina's Outer Banks on Thursday. The White House is currently monitoring multiple storms, including Florence, Olivia, Mangkut, and Isaac, and the President has mobilized the administration to support response efforts.

Threat becomes reality as Hurricane Florence closes in

Hurricane Florence's leading edge battered the Carolina coast on Thursday, as the hulking storm closed in with 105 mph winds for a drenching siege that could last all weekend. Forecasters said conditions would only get more lethal as the storm pushes ashore early Friday near the North Carolina-South Carolina line and makes its way slowly inland.

FEMA Administrator Brock Long’s travel subject of IG investigation, Politico reports

Brock Long reportedly began having a government driver take him home last year and aides that went along were put up in hotels at taxpayers' expense. FEMA Administrator Brock Long's travel subject of IG investigation, Politico reports Brock Long reportedly began having a government driver take him home last year and aides that went along were put up in hotels at taxpayers' expense.

The Latest: Police chief warns: No one to call in the storm

Federal emergency officials at a Washington briefing are urging people to treat Hurricane Florence seriously even though its top sustained winds are down to 110 mph , which makes it a Category 2 storm. They say it remains very large and very dangerous, bringing more than 30 inches of rain to the coast and heavy winds that will impact a giant swath of land.

Dana Milbank: Unstoppable Florence meets Trump’s immovable Washington

This small meteorological irony reveals big things about the Age of Trump. Fifty weeks ago, following the devastation of Hurricane Maria, which we now know killed some 3,000 Americans in Puerto Rico, Democrats on the House Government Reform Committee called for hearings into the flawed federal response to the 2017 storms in Puerto Rico.

a Threat becomes realitya : Florence begins days of rain, wind

Mostly deserted, much of downtown Charleston, S.C. is boarded up and closed on Thursday in advance of Hurricane Florence. Hurricane Florence's leading edge battered the Carolina coast Thursday, bending trees and shooting frothy sea water over streets on the Outer Banks, as the hulking storm closed in with 105 mph winds for a drenching siege that could last all weekend.

Trump disputes estimate of Puerto Rico storm deaths

As Hurricane Florence bore down on the U.S. on Thursday, President Donald Trump angrily churned up the devastating storm of a year earlier, disputing the official death count from Hurricane Maria and falsely accusing Democrats of inflating the Puerto Rican toll to make him "look as bad as possible." Public health experts have estimated that nearly 3,000 perished because of the effects of Maria.

Storm’s uncertain track sows fear; 10 million in crosshairs

Hurricane Florence put a corridor of more than 10 million people in the crosshairs Wednesday as the monster storm closed in on the Carolinas, uncertainty over its projected path spreading worry across a widening swath of the Southeast. 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.

Millions brace themselves as Hurricane Florence approaches US coast

Hurricane Florence has more than 10 million people in its crosshairs as the monster storm closes in on the US East Coast with uncertainty over its projected path spreading worry across a widening swathe of the country. 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.

8 PM Update: ‘Life-threatening’ Florence remains Cat. 3 hurricane, barrels towards Carolinas

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.

Hurricane Florence shifts south as Georgia and Carolinas hunker down

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.

US says transfer from FEMA funds won’t harm…

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."