VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia (Eagle News) – Hurricane Florence, the first major hurricane for 2018 in the Atlantic Ocean, is now a category four storm.
Over the weekend, the governors of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia declared a state of emergency so that resources needed for preparation could be released.
Graphics courtesy of NOAA, The Hurricane Center.
Storm prompts evacuations and school closures
In Virginia on Monday, Governor Ralph Northam, declared Zone A under a mandatory evacuation, effective Tuesday, September 11 at 8 a.m.
Virginia has four evacuation zones, A-D, for the coastal area of the state in the event of an emergency. Zone A includes areas along the coastline that are low-lying and easily susceptible to flooding. Residents can find out their zones by visiting knowyourzoneva.org.
Due to the evacuation, beginning Tuesday, schools in the Hampton Roads area and Northern North Carolina are closed and are not expected to reopen this week or until further notice.
The National Hurricane Center estimated that tropical storm-force-winds could be felt in the Carolinas and South-East Virginia between Wednesday 8 p.m. and Thursday 8 a.m. As early as Monday, however, many residents heeded the warning and most stores’ shelves were emptied of necessity items like bottled water, bread, canned goods, propane, and butane gas.
shelves barely have any selection. Residents prepare for hurricane Florence.
/Sarah Nacman/EBC Washington DC/Eagle News Service/
As of Tuesday, 2 p.m., the National Hurricane Center’s Hurricane Florence Public Advisory warned that hurricane “Florence (was) getting better organized and increasing in size.”
The Advisory also said watches for storm surge and hurricane were in effect for Edisto South Carolina to the North Carolina-Virginia border, Albermarle and Pamlico Sounds, including the Neuse and Pamlico Rivers.
Graphics courtesy of NOAA, The Hurricane Center.
The latest projected path of the hurricane showed the coastline of the Carolinas is where Florence is expected to make landfall. Officials, however, do not want people outside the Carolinas coastline to let their guard down because Florence is likely to stall as it approaches land, resulting in a heavy downpour of rain for an extended period of time.
“A life-threatening surge is likely along portions of the coastlines of South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia” and “life-threating, catastrophic flash flooding, and significant river flooding is possible over portions of the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic states from late this week into early next week,” stated Hurricane Center advisory.
Damaging hurricane-force winds is another dire concern for residents and likely to hit the Carolinas coastline and Virginia. According to the Hurricane Center as of Tuesday, 8 p.m., Florence is moving west-north-west at 17 MPH (28 KM/H) with maximum sustained winds of 140 MPH (220 KM/H).
The government is providing free information on hurricane preparation on the website Ready.gov. Residents who are advised to evacuate and go to a shelter can read on the website a step-by-step guide from what to bring to what to expect in shelters. The government resource directs residence to the nearest open shelter. To find the nearest shelter one can text SHELTER followed by a Zip Code to 433362.
(Sarah Nacman, EBC Washington DC, Eagle News Service)