Hurricane (The Cyclone) Season 2018

[BGIF]

2 pm NHC Advisory

2 pm NHC Advisory

Florence still Cat 1.


...FLORENCE MOVING SLOWLY INLAND OVER EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN NORTH
CAROLINA...
...LIFE-THREATENING STORM SURGES AND HURRICANE-FORCE WIND GUSTS CONTINUE...
...CATASTROPHIC FRESHWATER FLOODING EXPECTED OVER PORTIONS OF NORTH
AND SOUTH CAROLINA...


SUMMARY OF 200 PM EDT...1800 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...34.0N 78.4W
ABOUT 35 MI...55 KM WSW OF WILMINGTON NORTH CAROLINA
ABOUT 35 MI...55 KM ENE OF MYRTLE BEACH SOUTH CAROLINA
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...75 MPH...120 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...W OR 270 DEGREES AT 5 MPH...7 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...968 MB...28.58 INCHES


WATCHES AND WARNINGS
--------------------
CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY:

None.


RAINFALL: Florence is expected to produce heavy and excessive rainfall in the following areas...

Southeastern coastal North Carolina into far northeastern South Carolina...an additional 20 to 25 inches, with isolated storm totals of 30 to 40 inches. This rainfall will produce catastrophic flash flooding and prolonged significant river flooding.

Remainder of South Carolina and North Carolina into southwest Virginia...5 to 10 inches, isolated 15 inches. This rainfall will produce life-threatening flash flooding.

Rainfall totals exceeding 16 inches thus far have been reported at several locations across southeastern North Carolina.

 

[BGIF]

US flag seen shredded by Hurricane Florence off NC coast to be replaced with donated Old Glory | Fox News

The Frying Pan Tower American Flag that millions of people saw being shredded by Hurricane Florence as it approached North Carolina will be replaced with a new, donated Old Glory.

A live stream Thursday showed the storm battering the flag as it flew over an old Coast Guard station, 34 miles off the North Carolina coast, which has now been converted into a B&B run by Richard Neal, and is reachable by helicopter or boat in less treacherous conditions.

Flag retailer Flag and Banner has offered to donate a replacement, WMAZ-TV reported Friday.

"Many many thanks for FLAG sponsor https://flagandbanner.com/ who is stepping up to help the tower with new flags," Neal said on the B&B's Facebook page.

Neal told Fox News Friday that he’ll replace the tattered flag as soon as he can.

“We should have helicopter access to the tower Wednesday or Thursday,” he said from Charlotte, N.C., where he is riding out the storm.

He told the Charlotte Observer that he fielded some angry calls from veterans viewing the live stream.

“They told me, ‘this is disrespectful,’ and that I need to get out there and replace it right then—in the hurricane,” Neal said.

Neal said the flag represents “who we are as America.”

“We get beat up, battered during hard times, but we stay up, stay at it through the storm,” he told the paper.

 

[BGIF]

Duke Energy
Verified account
@DukeEnergy
4 hours ago

We anticipate 1-3 million outages across the Carolinas, restoration in the hardest-hit communities could take weeks. We have 20,000 resources from 26 locations ready to help restore power as soon as the storm passes. #Florence

Duke Energy
Verified account
@DukeEnergy

More than 8,000 Carolinas-based workers are being joined by 1,700 workers from Midwest & 1,200 from Florida to respond to #Florence. This is our largest mobilization of resources to date in the Carolinas in response to a severe-weather event.

 

[BGIF]

Hurricane Florence is no more.

It's now Tropical Storm Florence.



Tropical Storm Florence Advisory Number 62
NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL062018
500 PM EDT Fri Sep 14 2018

...FLORENCE NOW PRODUCING TROPICAL-STORM-FORCE WIND GUSTS IN FLORENCE SOUTH CAROLINA...
...LIFE-THREATENING STORM SURGES TO CONTINUE TONIGHT...
...CATASTROPHIC FRESHWATER FLOODING EXPECTED OVER PORTIONS OF NORTH
AND SOUTH CAROLINA...


SUMMARY OF 500 PM EDT...2100 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...34.0N 78.6W
ABOUT 50 MI...75 KM WSW OF WILMINGTON NORTH CAROLINA
ABOUT 25 MI...45 KM NE OF MYRTLE BEACH SOUTH CAROLINA
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...70 MPH...110 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...W OR 270 DEGREES AT 3 MPH...6 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...972 MB...28.70 INCHES


WATCHES AND WARNINGS
--------------------
CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY:

The Storm Surge Warning has been discontinued south of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and north of Salvo, North Carolina, including Albemarle Sound.

The Storm Surge Watch has been discontinued.

The Hurricane Warning has been replaced with a Tropical Storm Warning from South Santee River, South Carolina to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

The Tropical Storm Warning has been discontinued north of Cape Hatteras, including Albemarle Sound.

The Hurricane Watch has been discontinued.


At 500 PM EDT (2100 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Florence was located near latitude 34.0 North, longitude 78.6 West. Florence is moving toward the west near 3 mph (6 km/h). A slow westward to west-southwestward motion is expected through Saturday. On the forecast track, the center of Florence will move farther inland across extreme southeastern North Carolina this evening, and across extreme eastern South Carolina tonight and Saturday. Florence will then move generally northward across the western Carolinas and the central Appalachian Mountains early next week.

Doppler radar data and surface observations indicate that maximum sustained winds have decreased near 70 mph (110 km/h) with higher gusts. Gradual weakening is expected tonight. Significant weakening is forecast over the weekend and into early next week while Florence moves farther inland.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles (280 km) from the center. A sustained wind of 55 mph (89 km/h) and gust to to 72 mph (116 km/h) was recently reported at the National Ocean Service station at Johnny Mercer Pier in Wrightsville Beach.

The estimated minimum central pressure based on nearby surface observations is 972 mb (28.70 inches).

 

[ACamp1900]

https://www.facebook.com/steve.brooks.96/videos/10215468717744165/

 

[BobbyMac]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">So dramatic! Dude from the weather channel bracing for his life, as 2 dudes just stroll past. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HurricaneFlorence?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HurricaneFlorence</a> <a href="https://t.co/8FRyM4NLbL">pic.twitter.com/8FRyM4NLbL</a></p>— Tony scar. (@gourdnibler) <a href="https://twitter.com/gourdnibler/status/1040678572262916096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 14, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Irish YJ]

Lol. Repa

 

[texbender]

Living near the coastline going forward will increasingly become more problematic. It is a fact that the ocean level is rising, extensive areas along the coast are subsiding, population is concentrated near the coast, and storms are bigger and more powerful.

I have witnessed nd been involved in "clean-up" after catastrophic storms in south Texas (Ike and Harvey), and lost family in Katrina.


I go to the beach (south Tx, Florida gulf, Hawaii) for a week at a time during the year, and have lived and paid the price for living in the floodplain, otherwise I'm headed to high ground. Mother nature wins every time.

Best of luck to all in the path of Flo...hope you got out when you had a chance.

 

[Irish YJ]

My mother, the St. Francis of our family, loves the pic of the guy that's being rescued with the "little wet kitty" on his shoulder.

 

[SonofOahu]

Live cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deG4NxkouGM

That flag has seen better days.

Why haven't all the fake patriots complained about the fact that they left the flag out during the storm? Morons complain about Kap making a respectful social protest, but not about leaving the flag out to be destroyed?

 

[Irish YJ]

Why haven't all the fake patriots complained about the fact that they left the flag out during the storm? Morons complain about Kap making a respectful social protest, but not about leaving the flag out to be destroyed?

from flag etiquette...

§ 6. Time and occasions for display
(a) It is the universal custom to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset on buildings and on stationary flag staffs in the open. However, when a patriotic effect is desired, the flag may be displayed twenty-four hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness.

(b) The flag should be hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously.

(c) The flag should not be displayed on days when the weather is inclement, except when an all weather flag is displayed.

As I understand it, it was an all weather flag. Just could not handle Flo

Fake news

 

[loomis41973]

Why haven't all the fake patriots complained about the fact that they left the flag out during the storm? Morons complain about Kap making a respectful social protest, but not about leaving the flag out to be destroyed?

You sicken me. Sad I can't neg rep you again...someone pick me up.


Maybe they were too busy boarding up their business and house and helping their neighbors as well...A flag is easily replaced...a neighbor, friend, family member...not so much

My flag never comes down. Would rather buy another and spend the time helping family, friends and neighbors.

 

[SonofOahu]

from flag etiquette...



As I understand it, it was an all weather flag. Just could not handle Flo

Fake news

Who in their right mind would leave a flag out in a storm? It's not like they were expecting a brisk summer breeze.

 

[Irish YJ]

Who in their right mind would leave a flag out in a storm? It's not like they were expecting a brisk summer breeze.

The Flag is a constant at what was an unmanned station (I think it used to be a coast guard station) accessible only by copter or boat.

 

[BGIF]

Why haven't all the fake patriots complained about the fact that they left the flag out during the storm? Morons complain about Kap making a respectful social protest, but not about leaving the flag out to be destroyed?

Cherry picking again? Or still?

Only a moron would bring Kap up in a disaster thread but that's your M.O., isn't it? Thousands of people from over 21 states have come to the Carolinas to help out as volunteers and you have to work to post a negative.

After both of those posts you just referenced, I posted a followup article in this thread, the truth about the flag. You couldn't reference that one, could you?

http://www.irishenvy.com/forums/lep...ricane-cyclone-season-2018-a.html#post2035228

It was NEW 2 weeks ago. It is flying on a former Coast Guard Station Tower some 2 or 3 dozen miles out in the Atlantic Ocean. The tower is now privately owned and operated and was evacuated in the face of a Cat 4 Hurricane. The flag was shredded by Florence like a lot of residences and businesses were and still are. The owner has stated that the flag will be replaced as soon as it is safe to fly (and the FAA allows private helicopters back in the air space).

 

[BGIF]

You sicken me. Sad I can't neg rep you again...someone pick me up.


Maybe they were too busy boarding up their business and house and helping their neighbors as well...A flag is easily replaced...a neighbor, friend, family member...not so much

My flag never comes down. Would rather buy another and spend the time helping family, friends and neighbors.

I did before I responded to his post or seeing your's.

 

[loomis41973]

Thank you, Sir.

 

[SonofOahu]

The Flag is a constant at what was an unmanned station (I think it used to be a coast guard station) accessible only by copter or boat.

I think it's privately owned, now.

Cherry picking again? Or still?

Only a moron would bring Kap up in a disaster thread but that's your M.O., isn't it? Thousands of people from over 21 states have come to the Carolinas to help out as volunteers and you have to work to post a negative.

After both of those posts you just referenced, I posted a followup article in this thread, the truth about the flag. You couldn't reference that one, could you?

http://www.irishenvy.com/forums/lep...ricane-cyclone-season-2018-a.html#post2035228

It was NEW 2 weeks ago. It is flying on a former Coast Guard Station Tower some 2 or 3 dozen miles out in the Atlantic Ocean. The tower is now privately owned and operated and was evacuated in the face of a Cat 4 Hurricane. The flag was shredded by Florence like a lot of residences and businesses were and still are. The owner has stated that the flag will be replaced as soon as it is safe to fly (and the FAA allows private helicopters back in the air space).

I did before I responded to his post or seeing your's.

You assume I actually read your posts? You're boring and unimportant to any discussions that hold my interest. I give zero fucks about you, and your downvotes...

Uh, Go Irish?

 

[BGIF]

I think it's privately owned, now.





You assume I actually read your posts? You're boring and unimportant to any discussions that hold my interest. I give zero fucks about you, and your downvotes...

Uh, Go Irish?

So still cherry picking. I assumed you actually read other posts as part of discussion. Shame on me. Unlike you, I read posts whether the poster and I agree or not. And your political attack was factually wrong as well as grossly inappropriate in a disaster thread.

I've been posting GO IRISH! on this board since 2005 and on other ND boards preceding IE since 1995.

 

[Andy in Sactown]

You assume I actually read your posts? You're boring and unimportant to any discussions that hold my interest. I give zero fucks about you, and your downvotes...

While I did not like the way Loomis went about his disdain, this Oahu character is way off base. If you don't bother to participate in discourse, then why are you here? To propagate this nonsense?

The phrase "too soon" may have been usurped by "bad taste", or "poor form" or just merely "asshole."

 

[BGIF]

https://www.apnews.com/7b65f460a82244d182e014bf407fc804

By CHUCK BURTON and MARTHA WAGGONER
Today

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — Throwing a lifeline to a city surrounded by floodwaters, emergency crews delivered food and water to Wilmington on Monday as rescuers picked up more people stranded by Hurricane Florence and the storm’s remnants took aim at the densely populated Northeast.

The death toll from Florence rose to at least 32, and crews elsewhere used helicopters and boats to rescue people trapped by still-rising rivers.

“Thank you,” a frazzled, shirtless Willie Schubert mouthed to members of a Coast Guard helicopter crew who plucked him and his dog Lucky from atop a house encircled by water in Pollocksville. It was not clear how long he had been stranded.

A day earlier, Wilmington’s entire population of 120,000 people was cut off by flooding. By midday Monday, authorities reopened a single unidentified road into the town, which stands on a peninsula. But it wasn’t clear if that the route would remain open as the Cape Fear River kept swelling. And officials did not say when other roads might be clear.

In some places, the rain finally stopped, and the sun peeked through, but North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper warned that dangerously high water would persist for days. He urged residents who were evacuated from the hardest-hit areas to stay away because of closed roads and catastrophic flooding that submerged entire communities.

“There’s too much going on,” he told a news conference.

About two dozen truckloads of military MREs and bottled water were delivered overnight to Wilmington, the state’s eighth-largest city, officials said.

The chairman of New Hanover County’s commissioners, Woody White, said three centers would open by Tuesday morning to begin distributing essentials to residents.

“Things are getting better slowly, and we thank God for that,” White said.

Mayor Bill Saffo said he was working with the governor’s office to get more fuel into Wilmington.

“At this time, things are moving as well as can be in the city,” he said.

Crews have conducted about 700 rescues in New Hanover County, where more than 60 percent of homes and businesses were without power, authorities said.

Compounding problems, downed power lines and broken trees crisscrossed many roads in Wilmington three days after Florence made landfall. The smell of broken pine trees wafted through damaged neighborhoods.

At the White House, President Donald Trump said almost 20,000 military personnel and federal workers were deployed to help with the aftermath.

“We will do whatever it takes to keep the American people safe,” Trump said.

Preliminary statistics from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed Florence had the fourth-highest rainfall total of any hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland since 1950, with 35.94 inches (91.2 centimeters) at Elizabethtown, North Carolina. Harvey’s total of 60.58 inches (60.5 centimeters) last year in Texas is No. 1.

Desperate for gas to run a generator at home, Nick Monroe waited in a half-mile-long (more than half-kilometer) line at a Speedway station even though the pumps were wrapped in plastic. His power went off Thursday before Florence hit the coast, but he couldn’t recall exactly when.

“It’s all kind of a blur,” Monroe said.

At another gas station, a long line of vehicles followed a tanker truck that pulled in with 8,800 gallons (33,000 liters) of fuel.

Downgraded from a tropical depression, the deadly storm still had abundant rain and top winds around 25 mph (35 kph). Forecasters said it was expected to continue toward the Northeast, which is in for as much as 4 inches (10 centimeters) of rain, before the system moves offshore again.

The death toll climbed to 32, with 25 fatalities in North Carolina, as authorities found the body of a 1-year-old boy who was swept away after his mother drove into floodwaters and lost her grip on him while trying to get back to dry land. Elsewhere in North Carolina, an 88-year-old man died after his car was swept away. Authorities in Virginia said one person was dead after an apparent tornado.

Flooding worries also increased in Virginia, where roads were closed and power outages were on the rise. In all, about 420,000 homes and businesses in three states were in the dark. Most of the outages were in North Carolina.

Florence, once a fearsome Category 4 hurricane, was still massive. Radar showed parts of the sprawling storm over six states.

Fears of what could be the worst flooding in the state’s history led officials to order tens of thousands to evacuate, though it was not clear how many had fled or even could.

Emergency officials had difficulty keeping up with the scope of the spreading disaster. In Lumberton, where the Lumber River inundated homes, Fire Chief John Paul Ivey couldn’t even count how many calls authorities had received about people needing to be rescued.

“We’ve been going so hard and fast we don’t have a number yet,” he said.

 

[BGIF]

Reporter's Notebook: Isolated by floodwaters, Fox News crew finds route out of Wilmington | Fox News

HURRICANE FLORENCE 4 hours ago
Reporter's Notebook: Isolated by floodwaters, Fox News crew finds route out of Wilmington
By Jonathan Serrie | Fox News

Headlines proclaim rising floodwaters have left Wilmington, North Carolina “cut off” from the rest of the world. While largely true, my crew and I managed to find a roundabout way of driving back to our home base in Atlanta.

Producer Chip Bell, photographer Cappy Cochran and I had spent nearly a week on Wrightsville Beach. Reporting live from outside our vacation-rental condominium, we experienced the heavy winds of Hurricane Florence’s eye wall, marveled at the eerie calm of the eye of the storm and then got battered by the eye wall once again.

Despite being in the direct path of the storm, Wilmington Beach was spared much of the damage and flooding experienced by other North Carolina communities.

After finishing our early morning reporting shift on Sunday, it was time to go home.

But we didn’t get much farther than Wilmington before floodwaters blocked our route.
Our smartphone apps, which rely on motorists to report traffic obstacles, were of no use because there were so few people on the roads to report anything.

I clicked “road closure” on my app, so it would stop routing other drivers into the water.

And then we turned around and headed to Wilmington, where we joined a large contingent of Fox News colleagues who were working out of Hotel Ballast downtown.

There was standing water in the street out-front. But inside, hardworking hotel staff members were keeping the property operational with hot meals and warm hospitality.

Cappy, Chip and I began planning an alternate exit route through Myrtle Beach.

Bill Hemmer, who had anchored his show out of Wilmington during the storm, told us he had tried the same route earlier in the day, only to run into floods.

It was getting late, so we decided to reassess our exit strategy after a good night’s sleep.

Hotel Ballast was at full occupancy. But Miami-based photographer Chris Pontius, who was working an early shift the next day, was kind enough to lend us his room at the nearby Country Inn & Suites.

It too had remained operational throughout the storm. A man at the front desk explained the housekeeping staff had volunteered to stay at the hotel, so they could continue providing clean linens and towels and breakfast during the hurricane and its aftermath.

“We’re in the hotel business,” he explained. “We’re open 365 days a year. And if people need a comfortable place to stay during the hurricane, we’re going to provide it.”

In my 31 years of covering hurricanes and tropical storms, I’ve been impressed by hotels, restaurants and other businesses that either stay open during disasters or reopen quickly afterwards to serve first responders and the general public during the recovery.

Fox News and several other networks had contracted with an emergency fuel company to park a large tanker truck in downtown Wilmington for us to refuel our vehicles. Chip and Cappy topped off the tanks of our two SUVs, and then filled three external tanks strapped to the top of Cappy’s Suburban, which now looked more like a vehicle from a Mad Max movie.

Monday morning, Fox News producer Lissa Kaplan forwarded me driving directions she had received from a Wilmington City official. It was a somewhat complicated and winding route that state troopers and utility crews were using to get personnel and equipment from Raleigh to Wilmington. But Kaplan suggested if we followed the directions backwards, it would get us as far as Raleigh and from there, we could head to Atlanta.

While riding with Cappy and Chip in the Mad Max caravan, I received emails from several colleagues saying, “We’re all rooting for you!”

Other crews eager to return home, or deploy to breaking news in other parts of the state, would base their travel plans on our success or failure. So, as Chip drove, I took detailed notes of the route:

“Fallen tree blocking right lane near mile marker 102 on U.S. 17 North.”

“All obstacles and traffic jams (around gas stations and grocery stores) only affecting right lane. So, keep left.”

We were surprised we ran into no standing water along the route, which weaved through Jacksonville, Beulaville and Goldsboro. However, a construction crew directed one-lane traffic past a crumbling section of Highway 111 that had washed out just outside of Goldsboro.

As we reached the outskirts of Raleigh, things started to return to normal. No long lines outside gas stations. No fallen trees by the side of the road.

We drove into town and enjoyed a late lunch of chicken and waffles. It was our first sit-down restaurant meal since the storm, and something you come to appreciate after an extended power outage.

As I write this article from the passenger seat of Chip’s rental SUV, we’re negotiating our way around a traffic jam on I-85 South.

Thankfully, the issue has nothing to do with flooding, but a construction site that was there long before the storm, and will be long after. Once we get around this, it should be a straight-shot back to Atlanta.

Other colleagues now are emailing me that they, too, have gotten out of Wilmington safely using our route.

I’m glad for them. I’m glad for us.

But more importantly, I’m grateful for all the utility trucks, police and other service providers we saw driving in the opposite direction along the route. For those impacted by this terrible storm, help is on the way.

 

[BGIF]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-florence-food/millions-of-chickens-drown-in-florence-floodwaters-manure-pits-damaged-idUSKCN1LX2J2

SEPTEMBER 17, 2018 / 8:26 PM / UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO
Millions of chickens drown in Florence floodwaters, manure pits damaged
Tom Polansek, Lisa Baertlein

CHICAGO/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. food companies kept slaughter plants shut on Monday in southeastern states swamped by Hurricane Florence as catastrophic flooding killed nearly 2 million chickens, collapsed the walls of at least two hog manure pits, and made stretches of major roads impassable.

Florence, which has dumped up to 36 inches (91 cm) of rain on North Carolina since Thursday, was interrupting supply lines around the state and into neighboring South Carolina. Meteorologists have warned that the worst is yet to come as rivers rise. North Carolina is a top U.S. producer of poultry, hogs and tobacco. Agriculture contributes $87 billion to the state’s economy, making it the state’s No. 1 industry.

Two North Carolina hog waste pits were structurally damaged, four were inundated with water and seven had discharges, according to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.

More than 3,000 lagoons in the state were unaffected, the North Carolina Pork Council said.

When manure pits overflow, there is a risk that water supplies will be contaminated with bacteria like salmonella and e. coli.

Smithfield Foods Inc runs the world’s biggest hog plant in Tar Heel, North Carolina, near a junction where I-95 traffic has been disrupted. Smithfield closed the plant on Thursday and Friday and an employee said it was still closed on Monday. The company did not respond to requests for comment.

About 1.7 million broiler chickens that independent suppliers were raising for Sanderson Farms Inc, were killed in the floodwaters, the third-largest U.S. poultry producer said on Monday.

Some 30 poultry farms housing about 211,000 chickens each in the area of Lumberton, North Carolina, were isolated by floods, and Sanderson Farms was unable to get feed trucks to them.

“Losses of live inventory could escalate if the company does not regain access to those farms,” Sanderson Farms said in a statement. The company said it was assessing damage from the storm and warned that losses would weigh on quarterly results.

On Monday, the North Carolina Department of Transportation advised against travel in the southern, central and eastern parts of the state, noting that several sections of I-95 and I-40, which are major trucking arteries, were flooded. The South Carolina Department of transportation said sections of I-95 were closed near the North Carolina line. U.S. railroad operator CSX Corp, which services the area, advised customers that shipments traveling through the I-95 corridor would experience delays. CSX said it was assessing damage from the storm. “When it comes to moving product, there’s obviously challenges with major routes like I-95, I-75 and I-40 being closed and having to detour around that,” Perdue Farms spokesman Joe Forsthoffer said.

Last week, Perdue Farms shut poultry processing plants in Rockingham, North Carolina, and Dillon, South Carolina, and kept them offline on Monday because of road closures and power outages, Forsthoffer said.

“It just wasn’t safe to ask people to come in,” said Forsthoffer, who added that the privately held chicken producer would monitor road conditions to determine when it can resume slaughtering. He said a small number of poultry died on the company’s farms.

Commodity handler Cargill Inc closed an animal-feed facility in Roanoke, Virginia, and another facility in Fayetteville, North Carolina, that handles salt, oils and grains, because they are in active flood zones, spokeswoman April Nelson said on Monday. A third facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, was also closed and due to reopen on Tuesday, she said. On Tuesday, North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler will attempt to survey farms from a helicopter, Ashby said.

 

[Irish#1]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">So dramatic! Dude from the weather channel bracing for his life, as 2 dudes just stroll past. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HurricaneFlorence?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HurricaneFlorence</a> <a href="https://t.co/8FRyM4NLbL">pic.twitter.com/8FRyM4NLbL</a></p>— Tony scar. (@gourdnibler) <a href="https://twitter.com/gourdnibler/status/1040678572262916096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 14, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

LMAO

 

[Irish#1]

Who in their right mind would leave a flag out in a storm? It's not like they were expecting a brisk summer breeze.

You're on an island needing to evacuate. I don't think anyone is thinking about taking a flag down which is understandable.

 

[tadman95]

LMAO

Yea that was a baaaad look. The Weather Channel said he was tired from the long hours

 

[BabyIrish]

Yea that was a baaaad look. The Weather Channel said he was tired from the long hours

This doesn't take away from the hilarity of the video, but it's probably easier to walk in gusting wind at that speed then stand still and deliver a report.

 

[RDU Irish]

We got about 8" from Thursday through Monday. Not near as bad as random 4-6" overnight cells we get periodically thanks to the slow accumulation.

Matthew was 14" in like 24 hours, much more hit and run. Lots of folks hosting friends and family from the Wilmington area - could be a while before they can get back home and see whats what.

Big time bug out or bunker down option for folks on the coast leading in to this - plenty of lead time and warning even if you waited Wednesday night to make sure it was coming your way. Moral to this story for me - as with all previous natural disasters - be prepared and understand your surroundings.

 

[BGIF]

SEPTEMBER 23, 2018 / 1:44 AM / UPDATED 4 HOURS AGO
Rain-gorged river still poses flood threat in Hurricane Florence's aftermath
Harriet McLeod, Gene Cherry

(Reuters) - Rain-swollen rivers in North and South Carolina kept rising on Sunday and were forecast to remain at flood level for days, the National Weather Service said more than a week after the landfall of Hurricane Florence, already blamed for at least 40 deaths.

As many as 8,000 people in and around Georgetown, South Carolina, have been “strongly urged” to evacuate flood-prone areas along the Waccamaw and Pee Dee rivers early this week, Georgetown County spokeswoman Jackie Broach-Akers told Reuters.

Emergency management officials began sending pre-recorded telephone messages to residents in harm’s way over the weekend, and will probably start going door-to-door in the next few days, she said.

Authorities expect 5 to 10 feet (1.5 m to 3 m) of flooding in neighborhoods encompassing some 3,500 homes close to where the two rain-gorged rivers flow into Winyah Bay on the way to the Atlantic, Broach-Akers said. The flood zone includes Georgetown, at the rivers’ confluence, and the coastal resort community of Pawleys Island.

The county plans to open emergency shelters at 7 a.m. on Monday, and hotels outside the flood zone in nearby Myrtle Beach are offering discounts for evacuees. Public schools will be closed until further notice, Broach-Akers said.

State transportation crews were working to erect temporary dams on either side of U.S. Highway 17, the main coastal route through the area, and National Guard engineers were installing a floating bridge at Georgetown in case the highway is washed out at the river.

WILMINGTON’S WATER STREET UNDERWATER
About 100 miles (160 km) up the coast, a commercial section of downtown Wilmington, North Carolina, by the Cape Fear River was under a foot of water, with flooding expected to rise by a further 2 feet (0.61 m) with high tide on Sunday evening, city spokesman Dylan Lee said.

Flooding in Wilmington was expected to peak on Monday along the city’s Water Street riverfront, where many businesses had stacked sandbags in advance, Lee said. But the city said its offices would reopen on Monday after having been closed for a week.

Nine days after Florence came ashore, the National Weather Service said flooding would likely persist in coastal parts of the Carolinas for days as the high-water crest of numerous rivers keeps moving downstream toward the ocean.

“This isn’t over,” said Bob Oravec, a meteorologist with the NWS’ Weather Prediction Center. “All that water is going to take a good while to recede,” he said. “Damage can still be done. It’ll be a slow drop.”

The storm dumped 30 to 40 inches (75 to 100 cm) of rain on the Wilmington area alone after making landfall nearby on Sept. 14.

Floodwaters have begun to recede farther inland.

That left hundreds of dead fish stranded on a highway near Wallace, about 35 miles (56 km) from the nearest beach, according to the Penderlea Fire Department, which posted video of firefighters hosing the fish off Interstate 40.

“Well, we can add ‘washing fish off of the interstate’ to the long list of interesting things firefighters get to experience!” the department said on Facebook.

Remnants of the once-mighty storm brought heavy rains across a wide swath of the country, prompting flood watches and warnings from Texas to Virginia and Maryland, at least through Monday, the weather service said.

About 5,000 people across North Carolina have been rescued by boat or helicopter since the storm made landfall, twice as many as in Hurricane Matthew two years ago, according to state officials. Thousands of people remained in shelters.

 

[BGIF]

My nephew lives a couple of blocks East of Water St. He's been 9 days (and counting) without power. No estimate on restoration. Lives in an old rental house. Lost 4 windows but no injuries. He used up his supply of food "liberated" from his mom's house (see below) before, during, and after the storm and has now acquired a taste for MRE's. Interesting as he's a restaurant chef.

His mom was on a Med cruise when the storm arrived (shrewd planning). She had a tree down in the front yard but only lost part of a gutter. Her son covered her windows with plywood and sandbagged doorways and the garage. Water did not get in. She has neighbors with extensive damage from trees, water, and wind.

When my sister got home 3 days after the storm she found no food in the house. The fridge, freezer, and cupboard were all empty. I took the blame telling her son pre-storm to take whatever he could fit in his car. He thought he'd be out of power (and food stores) for 3 days or so. I told him figure weeks, not days. Take the frozen food, thaw it out and start cooking before the storm hits. Save the canned stuff for post-storm. He and his housemate ate it all except what they gave to neighbors who had not prepared as well as they were. He also filled the tub, washing machine, and two garbage bag lined trashcans with water. He also took drinkable from his mom's house soda, beer, wine, and ... champagne.

My cousin (Masonboro area) lost lots of trees but no structural damage to her house. No power. She's a R.N. and was called to service by the Health Department to serve in understaffed facilities. Her son shares a house a mile or so to the north and never lost power.

Another cousin (Atlantic Beach/Morehead city area) closed on a house a few weeks before Florence. Trees wrecked it.

None of the extended family was injured.


My sister had planned on retiring in Wilmington. After surveying the damage to homes, roads, and water treatment, and power plants she's changed her mind. She been through several hurricanes before in Wilmington but came to the realization that she was younger than and the city, county, state, and Feds don't plan to minimize damage from storms they just make it easier for people people to rebuild in the flood plains for the next disaster.


60 Minutes had a segment on infrastructure planning for hurricanes/nor'easters. They interviewed a Dutchman who has labored extensively in The Netherlands to lessen damage and loss of life through improved flood plains, demolishing building in the flood plains, building storm water storage basins, tidal gates, underground parking garages in beach areas to furnish tourist parking in season, but see double duty as the foundation for man-made grassy dunes covering the parking structure. The parking garage/dunes raise ground level by 25-30 feet and serve as a barrier to storm surge.

The Dutchman noted how if similar measures had been installed before Katrina, Sandy and other U.S. disasters loss of life and property would have been greatly diminished. It was emphasized how F.E.M.A does not mitigate disasters; they respond to them after they've passed. Federal Disaster Assistance and Federal Flood Insurance allow people to rebuild in the same hazardous areas and then spend more money after rebuilding on the devastation from the next storm. The Dutch broke the cycle. We haven't.

With governors like Kathleen Blanco and Mayors like Ray Nagin and the gridlock and bureaucracy in Washington I don't see us pulling together and emulating the Dutch to solve a problem.