The winds have picked up considerably in just the last few minutes, thank you, what is going on there . It looks like you have to hold on to stand up . You really do, sean, and we almost got blown over here. It gives you a sense of the power of this storm, it keeps increasing. And the people here who are either watching their homes and their communities on television or those who have decided to write it out just have a long, long way to go. Florence has slowed down now and its just creeping along, where nearly when you are in an area like this that is the worst of the worst, it only lasts a couple of hours. This is going to be 24 hours of Hurricane Force winds that we are just now really feeling the real effect self. To the rising tide is coming in. It is a terrible combination with the storm surge that will certainly destroy the dock and send these Dock Sessions into town to destroy everything and anything in the path. And watch the rain come down, it
will be 40 inches of rain which
pounding the carolinas. it is still extremely dangerous, and joining us now with a quick update on the ground in north top sail beach, north carolina, is hurricane steve harrigan. steve? sean, this part of the coast has simply been pounded for the past 30 hours. we have seen more than 20 inches of rain and winds strong enough to shear off the roofs of houses close to that beach line. finally we are getting some break in the action. a light rain and light breeze. that s going to make it a lot easier for first responders to do their job and that job is growing he a the water keeps rising. the police chief here says they re going out at first light to try and see areas. they have been unable to get to the roads here still very treacherous. downed power lines. water and debris. it s going to be the start of a long clean up and rescue operation at first light. sean, back to you. sean: all right. steve, i don t think anyone is getting gas at that bp station any time soon. for everybody p
some things break in the night. sean: steve, through a few of these together, you are doing the heavy lifting, we will call you her hurricane steve harrigan. you have been in some rough storms, what makes this one tougher is it is going to literally stay there for a good 24 hours with storm surging, and with heavy rains, maybe as many as 40 inches in some places, that has to be rough. do they expect a lot of flooding in the community? they really do, two things have impressed me, just how well the message has gotten out through the north carolina officials, they have been really clear and blunt about how dangerous this form is, and the people, usually you cover hurricanes and you see all kinds of people making light of it, hanging around. a surfing, you did not see that here. this place is a ghost town. so they have been very good as far as this goes, but it is tough to get out of here.
your vantage point? sean, we have seen things get worse each and every hour, i m starting to hear things break in the darkness. the electricity is out, more than 100,000 people at least along the coast of north carolina, that could go up to 3 million by the end. it looks like some of the construction on the building opposite me is starting to blow off, we have seen the winds reached tropical storm force over the next couple of hours, hurricane force, so things will get worse overnight, and the first responders are ready, the army is here. of the guard is here, from 19 states here to volunteer and help people. most of the people have listen, they are bordered up their houses, but it could be a rough couple of days for the people here, closing down the bridge that goes mid-island to the mainland. no power, getting worse and worse as the sheets of rain continued to come down. sean, back to you. sean: steve harrigan, be safe. checking in with them throughout the show, and weatherbell.c
laura: steve, we are watching you, everyone in the studio is watching this with me. we are actually afraid for you. i mean, that deck that you are on, the steps, that is not going to be there in an hour or two. that is gone. i m sorry, i think you got it i know you want to report what you got to get off that within walkway. that ain t going to be there for much longer. i know that beach very involved, by the way, and that is brutal. we ve been kind of moving back a little bit along the way. so we all try and moving back. but we are trying to show you the drama of what is going on at the same time. laura: the drama but we like you more. steve, please stay safe. we ll check back with you later on in the hour. that is unbelievable. if you live in the outer banks or near north topsail, that is incredible sight. we will have live reports of cores from the ground, from a closed throughout the hour. we also expect authorities to