Transcript for Tropical Storm Florence causes significant damage to parts of North Carolina
Welcome to ABC news live I’m Diana CEO we are keeping an eye on tropical storm Florence for you. Currently wind speeds of seventy miles per hour those have slowed down significantly from where this storm started. But the storm itself has also slowed it’s now moving at just three miles per hour. And is very bad news for anybody in during its winds and perhaps more importantly. The moisture that it’s bringing to certain areas let’s check in. But changes in Wilmington. Carolina changer. An event along 24 hours here in Wilmington, North Carolina as it has sent her so much of coastal North Carolina and South Carolina. You know for 24 hours we’ve been dealing with the wind and the rain and we have at least a whole another day about a nine point one of thirty hours left of it let me point out what’s happening here behind me. There these giant trees and you can really only see one of them that there at two and then agree on one street in the historic district here in Wilmington. Wilmington for example came into this storm prior to the storm. Being 28 inches above their average today as far as rain falls they were super saturated it was easy. To not these trees over so a 905 mile per hour gusts which we got early this morning. Just in that eye wall right before landfall of this hurricane mount storm. That was easy to not trees and power lines overs so three quarters of a million people without power does not surprisingly haven’t had a one. Flowers and we likely won’t. Because this thing this isn’t anybody was getting out there would have to get into the street aren’t going to be picked up a lot of time this gets. Sign up and moved out very quickly that won’t be the case and what we’re really concerned about tonight. And going into our Saturday our Sunday and even Monday and Tuesday. Would be the amount of water that is yet to come there but nearly twenty inches of rain has fallen at new port morehead which is very close to here. And we take that water that the party had add another ten to fifteen inches you’re gonna end up in that thirtieth were at forty inch range. Some of these rivers and creeks around here can flood when you get five to ten inches or less. And what’s gonna happen going to keep falling left and hear it all have to try to drain to the ocean and it won’t be able sale. And that’s where we’re gonna end up being the biggest concern one thing I can just bag of people is that if you. Don’t have to drive don’t. The weight people are going to that in the coming days is sitting in their car and driving into water. And that’s what we’re worried about here it has been a rough 24 hours but I can’t imagine. Imagine being the people who are at the coast the people who are in the homes around me here and have. A whole other weekend ahead if not early next week. Advice there from engine use the kind of eerie looking at that fallen tree behind her giving Q. Of the five deaths attributed to the storm right now were in Wilmington. And a result of a fallen trees to be very careful out there we also want to check in with either pilgrim who’s in Lambert and taking a look at how people are preparing. For those rising waters that dangerous just talking about Eva. There. This quote in all places. Yeah. Well pointless war what. Sport. That is reinforced. There yeah. All. He which. All rail line here. We’re right don’t. So we’d if you weren’t. Mayors all it worked with state governments all. Yet the optimizations blog. And it took until this morning. That all the or the order. Blog. We got very we got everybody out here we ask. Authorities here while. We’ve thrown everything we’ve got evidence. To act act act. Let’s. That it. Must be worked. Like we go it horses. Off road race or better it’s. They have. And it. But. Button. Well. Or what there. Oh. There’s. Are at war plan by order art. It. We’re told that we can do this we Gregory all of our efforts for about the rest of that day. Although two. Just like we did yesterday and breaks or. We built our program political book that plan as well it’s all sand bags plastic. Play crush pre everything we could settle all those stores everything there. Give ourselves as much preparation. Even if this fails. You know water still. Laurie it is. It. Let’s. Wait watch wait for the winds to get down which it’s likely be back out you know. There. Room. So for bill. Look at this man. What happened in the we’re yeah that would impose a bit of that trails dale. With the railroad repairs this. President filling it with dirt but we’re standing on base that but rift raft. Which but waterfront. And that. Three. Operate it. I think it like the waters off your head here. Today here would slow the water. All of it. What’s more. If we can help call. Go. We know that water’s gone. Just matter now. And that’s what I don’t have any. If we spoke to fail all the water’s coming through here. I can’t have a good shot it out. Be able to say this. That’s not entail does that force. Anyway you’re getting reports of the in this it’s the. Time is the key unit and it sounds like more than three days just to get the project approved we. Wish them luck of course that they’re getting ready for those while rising waters Mo were also taking a look. At some of the places already hard hit by those waters Amy Roebuck is at a gas station. In Wilmington, North Carolina where she has seen water rescues all day Amy. It would tropical storm force winds still blowing and a lot of rain here and Wilmington, North Carolina area we got out to walk through the main drag market street it goes to Wilmington. He could see signs here on the ground there are downed trees everywhere signs obliterated light posts fallen over. We’ve seen a power lines just whipping in the wind and then we came across this. This was a gas station here and you can see what Lawrence did to it. We had a report earlier today. Of wind speeds up to a 105 miles per hour at the airport which is nearby here where we are right now when you can see the damage done here this is a category one storm. And you can see there is destruction up. And down market street here in Wilmington, North Carolina. We’ve also been following some of the rescues that are taking place and will be taking place over the next several days because of this rain that will not stop this isn’t. Hours long this is a day long event we will be following it throughout the day and throughout the week the weekend here in Wilmington, North Carolina. Diane back to you. I Amy robot there from Wilmington, North Carolina. And I want bring in Jeff Smith meteorologist with the BBC. Jeff level and that earlier in this show at the beginning they were looking at a vision of the sunset. Over Mount Pleasant South Carolina you could see the water already going over that here. And they have kind of just started feeling the effects of this storm what can people expect as night. As nightfall comes buyer who is of oysters pointed parts of North Carolina and also the upper South Carolina coast like check out the radar picture right now. And this band of rain that’s producing three inch per hour rainfall rates that’s mainly over southeastern parts of North Carolina. Will extend into South Carolina as well as as Florence continues moving off to the west at that crawling pace at three miles per hour. And you’re going to be adding on to these twenty inch totals may be another twenty inches in some areas look at the winds that we had winds obviously not as big the story now but they were big story earlier cape lookout. And wind gusts 106 miles per hour Wilmington 105 mile per hour wind gusts. Was there highest wind gusts in sixty years if you go back to 1958 C a higher wind gusts Jacksonville, North Carolina. With 86 mile per hour passed the problem with the winds even though they’ve come down a little bit. They’re still on shore so there to be piling ocean water onshore especially the western side of Pimlico sound. Heading up the noose river ended Newburgh which is already been devastated by flooding they’re getting. A terrible combination of storm surge flooding. In also freshwater flooding from the copious amounts of rainfall again that three inch per hour rainfall and just sitting over that area. They get locally twenty inches plus additional rain not too far from Wilmington just west of there also into extreme northeastern parts. Of South Carolina in the ten to fifteen inch area extends west towards Charlotte even six to ten inches is far west as parts of the apple lesions near Asheville. The storm literally takes all weekend across the state of South Carolina. If we have to watch the South Carolina coast as this storm moves in the in the wind comes in more from the south along the South Carolina coast they haven’t had to deal with storm surge yet but they will I think during the high tide cycles. Tomorrow and tomorrow night in places like. Myrtle Beach. And the storm exits South Carolina in accelerates as it heads on to the north and northeast causing. Heavy rainfall but nothing near the flooding that they had gone in the Carolinas as we head and parts of the Ohio valley in Pennsylvania by early. Next week. It’s so much to look at in this storm in as we heard from Victor candor earlier. He also to be concerned about what’s in the water whether it’s certain animal herds or even toxins. You name it so definitely. I’m sure lots of prayers are and a country with an interior and National Weather Service telling people tonight in parts of North Carolina if you’ve never seen flooding before. You may see it tonight. It’s that it’s that much of an unprecedented event. Over southeastern North Carolina could be a 1000 year flood. In some cases in parts of South Carolina they’re saying we could see it catastrophic and historic one guests would use that area. Jeff Smith thank you so much for being with us to help us keep track of the storm.
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