(UPDATE: 12:35 p.m.) - Hurricane Florence has claimed its first two victims.
Wilmington Police have confirmed that a mother and infant were killed when a tree fell on their home.
The father was transported to New Hanover Regional Medical Center with injuries.
WPD can confirm the first two fatalities of Hurricane #Florence in Wilmington. A mother and infant were killed when a tree fell on their house. The father was transported to NHRMC with injuries. https://t.co/FC5PAhuxig
— Wilmington Police (@WilmingtonPD) September 14, 2018
Florence has lost a bit of steam as it starts to move inlands and winds are down to maximum gusts of 75 mph.
North Carolina Governor, Roy Cooper, delivered a message to his state this morning.
“This storm is going to continue its violent grind across our state for days," he said. "Be alert. To those in the storm path, if you can hear me – please stay sheltered in place. Do NOT go out into this storm.”
NowMedia will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.
(Original story: 7:20 a.m.) - Hurricane Florence has reached land and this is just the beginning.
The category one storm made landfall near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina around 7:15 a.m. EDT today.
Breaking: #HurricaneFlorence made landfall near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina at 7:15 am ET. @NOAA's #GOESEast satellite got a view of the Cat. 1 hurricane moving ashore this morning. Latest updates from @NHC_Atlantic: https://t.co/UHhgfFVsSQ pic.twitter.com/ZxXJkNdjoK
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) September 14, 2018
It had estimated maximum wind speeds of 90 mph (150 km/h), putting it just under the threshold of a ‘major’ hurricane.
While the wind is dangerous enough, the real risk for homes along the coast today and into the weekend is the storm surge.
This @weatherchannel visualization of storm surge is an amazing and sobering use of technology to show what hurricanes like Florence can do pic.twitter.com/fuszIcOR3s
— Brian L Kahn (@blkahn) September 13, 2018
The Weather Channel reported a 10.1-foot storm surge in New Bern on Friday morning.
Flooding has already started in North Carolina and, according to the Washington Post, over 100 are already stranded and in need of rescue.
An estimated 10 to 15 inches of rain has already fallen in some areas of North Carolina and the heavy rain is expected to continue for days, with more than 40 inches believed to be possible.
NowMedia will update this story as it happens.
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