Hurricane Florence has landed in North Carolina on Friday, September 14, pushing a life-threatening storm, high winds and catastrophic flooding, with authorities warning that it is once in a lifetime event.
More specifically, over 280,000 people are without power and coastal streets have been inundated with water hours before the hurricane makes landfall.Heavy rain and surging seas have already inundated coastal areas, while dozens of people were rescued from a collapsing hotel in Jacksonville, North Carolina, overnight.
Florence made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane at 7:15 am at Wrightsville Beach, as the centre of its eye moved onshore, according to the National Hurricane Centre.
More than 20,000 people are meanwhile taking refuge in emergency shelters, while evacuation warnings are in place for 1.7 million people.
According to latest predictions, the storm is slowing to a near standstill as it pummels the coast with copious amounts of rain from Thursday night to Saturday, and wind speeds are only expected to weaken on Saturday.
