Heavy rains and 90 mph winds are lashing the Carolinas coast as Hurricane Florence makes landfall in North Carolina as a Category 1 storm. The storm surge has already reached 10 feet, sending chest-high water pouring into residents’ homes and forcing first responders to make emergency rescues overnight. Florence has already knocked out power for more than 400,000 people across North and South Carolina. The storm is expected to linger over the region throughout the day today, unleashing up to 40 inches of rain on some coastal communities, threatening to cause deadly flash flooding and toxic waste spills of coal ash and pig manure from the hog farms lining the Carolinas coast. This is North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper.

Gov. Roy Cooper: “The worst of the storm is not yet here. But these are the early warnings of the days to come. Surviving this storm will be a test of endurance, teamwork, common sense and patience.”