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Editor’s Note: Are you affected by Hurricane Florence? When it’s safe, text, iMessage or WhatsApp your videos, photos and stories to CNN: +1 347-322-0415
CNN
—
The rain turned sideways Thursday, rivers swelled and floodwaters began to fill streets, as massive Hurricane Florence trudged toward North Carolina.
Florence is now a Category 1 storm with a 10-foot storm surge, according to the National Weather Service.
The storm’s outer bands lashed towns on the barrier islands and on some of the Tar Heel State’s rivers, as the center of the cyclone moved to make a probable Friday landfall.
In Morehead City, the rain and surf pounded the shoreline and took aim at the few boats still in the water. In New Bern, on the Neuse River, a CNN team had to keep shifting position in a park as the water kept rising until it was too dangerous to stay in the area.
A weather station in Atlantic Beach recorded a total of 12.73 inches for a 24-hour period.
Farther south, in Carolina Beach, the northern end of the town was being swamped as water crashed over the dunes.
Some areas also saw the first of the hurricane-force winds. At Cape Lookout there were sustained winds of 83 mph and gusts of 106.
“With this storm, it’s a (Category 1) but the storm surge and the flooding is going to be that of a category 4,” CNN Meteorologist Jennifer Gray said Thursday night.
She said the momentum the storm has generated on its long trip across the Atlantic won’t go away just “because the winds decrease a couple miles an hour.”
While wind speeds dropped Thursday, forecasters reminded people that what makes Florence extremely dangerous are the potentially deadly storm surges, the expected mammoth coastal flooding and historic rainfall.
Florence is expected to go move slowly as it approaches North and South Carolina, whipping hurricane-force winds and dumping relentless rain at least through Saturday.
“It’s not going to take much in a lot of these areas to saturate the soil, so trees are going to come down really easily” and knock down power lines, said Ken Graham, director of the National Hurricane Center.
? Florence is getting closer: As of 2 a.m. ET Friday, the center of Florence was about 35 miles east-southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina. The storm’s forward speed had slowed to 6 mph, and forecasters were concerned it might have stalled.
? When is landfall? Florence’s center will approach the North and South Carolina coasts late Thursday and Friday. The actual landfall – when the center of the eye reaches land – will be Friday afternoon at the earliest, said Neil Jacobs of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
? Widespread power outages: More than 102,000 homes and businesses are without power, the North Carolina Emergency Management agency said.
? River rising: A gauge in the Neuse River near the town of Oriental indicated the water was 4 feet over flood stage and more than 5 feet above normal levels.
? Many flights are canceled: More than 1,300 flights along the US East Coast have been canceled through Friday.
The tropical cyclone is expected to unload 10 trillion gallons of rainfall in North Carolina, weather.us meteorologist Ryan Maue said. That’s enough to fill more than 15 million Olympic-size swimming pools.
In the North Carolina town of Rodanthe, on Hatteras Island, Rebecca Well Hooper shot video of the pier early Thursday afternoon.
“There is some damage … but it is still standing strong. There is overwash but nothing we are not used to,” she said.
Despite days of warnings to evacuate, some residents are staying put – even if they don’t want to.
Cheryl Browning lives with her husband and son, who has terminal cancer, in Richlands, North Carolina. They also have three dogs and three parrots.
Browning’s choice to stay in the hurricane warning zone wasn’t easy, she said, but she “could not find anywhere to go.”
“Either no (hotel) rooms are available, or we are denied because the breed or size of dogs,” she said. “Many that will accept them only allow one per room. And since we have three dogs and three parrots, they’re requesting us to purchase two to six rooms.”
And there’s no way her family could afford that – or the $1,728 per room another hotel quoted. Other residents have told CNN they’re not evacuating because emergency shelters won’t accept pets.
CNN
“Since my husband retired and my health declined, we have his retirement as an income. He is the only caregiver to me and my son,” Browning said. “So since we can’t find anything within our means … we’ve opted to stay.”
Her neighbors gave her the key to their house, which is two stories and might be safer from flooding, she said. It’s a kind gesture but doesn’t alleviate Browning’s fear.
“I’m not going to lie: I’m scared,” she said. “But I think it’ll be OK.”
Browning said she had started a GoFundMe campaign in case repairs are needed for the family home.
Thousands bunk in shelters
More than 1 million people have been ordered to evacuate and authorities urged them to get going before the streets become inundated.
“Inland flooding kills a lot of people. … Please keep that in mind,” and consider leaving soon, Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said midmorning Thursday.
In North Carolina, Florence is expected to dump up to 40 inches of rain and storm surge will be high.
“Catastrophic effects will be felt outside the center of the storm due to storm surge,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said Thursday morning. “Tens of thousands of structures are expected to be flooded, and many more by rising rivers and creeks.”
In Murrell’s Inlet, South Carolina, Mikey Zalloum of Uncle Mikey’s Brick Oven Pizza sweated as he worked feverishly to make pies Thursday night.
His bustling pizza restaurant is one of the few businesses open in the evacuated town.
Why is he open when the town is mostly evacuated? He said he has been through this many times in his 15 years in the Myrtle Beach area and that “nothing is going to happen.”
Mikey Zalloum makes pizza Thursday night at his Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, restaurant.
Sara Weisfeldt/CNN
He said he usually doesn’t make the pizzas himself, but he was on Thursday because “everybody is scared,” including most of his staff.
Emergencies declared in several states
Maura Walbourne sits in the front of a canoe as she looks inside her flooded home in Conway, South Carolina, on Sunday, September 23.
Jason Lee/AP
A home in Conway, South Carolina, is inundated by floodwaters on Wednesday, September 26, one week after Hurricane Florence.
Sean Rayford/Getty Images
Taylor James navigates floodwaters in a boat in front of Trinity United Methodist Church in Conway, South Carolina on Wednesday, September 26.
Sean Rayford/Getty Images
Floodwaters from the Neuse River cover part of Kinston, North Carolina, on Monday, September 24.
Ken Blevins/AP
Brian Terry looks at the floodwaters outside his home in Brittons Neck, South Carolina, on Saturday, September 22.
Jason Lee/AP
An officer with the South Carolina State Highway Patrol marks the water level of Highway 22 on Saturday.
Jason Lee/AP
Avery Singleton takes a boat to Pine Grove Baptist Church in Brittons Neck, South Carolina, on Saturday.
Jason Lee/AP
President Donald Trump hands out food at Temple Baptist Church, where food and other supplies were being distributed Wednesday, September 19, as part of Hurricane Florence recovery efforts in New Bern, North Carolina.
Evan Vucci/AP
Trump shakes hands as he visits the New Bern church on Wednesday.
Evan Vucci/AP
A woman in Currie, North Carolina, sits on a damaged road surrounded by floodwaters on Tuesday, September 18.
Alex Wroblewski/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Ronnie Gainey pulls an electric guitar from his flooded home in Darlington, South Carolina.
Jerry Wolford/Perfecta Visuals/Polaris/Newscom
Two people near Wallace, South Carolina, sit on the top of a vehicle that was caught in flooding on Monday, September 17.
Sean Rayford/AP
Rescue personnel help people evacuate a flooded area in Spring Lake, North Carolina.
David Goldman/AP
Floodwaters surround a trailer in Pollocksville, North Carolina, on September 17.
Steve Helber/AP
Pollocksville resident Willie Schubert cradles his dog, Lucky, atop a stranded van as they await help from the US Coast Guard on September 17.
Steve Helber/AP
Floodwaters are seen on North Carolina's Emerald Isle on Sunday, September 16.
Tom Copeland/AP
Chicken farm buildings are inundated with floodwaters near Trenton, North Carolina, on September 16.
Steve Helber/AP
Panicked dogs left caged by their owner are rescued by volunteer Ryan Nichols in Leland, North Carolina, on September 16.
JONATHAN DRAKE/REUTERS
A church is partially submerged in Richlands, North Carolina, on September 16.
Callaghan O'Hare/Getty Images
Coast Guard member Blake Gwinn helps Josephine Horne escape her flooded home in Columbus County, North Carolina, on September 16.
Andrew Nelles/USA TODAY NETWORK
A large tree lies on top of a mobile home in Newport, North Carolina, on September 16.
Robert Willett/AP
John Hendren leads horses to safety after the US Coast Guard helped cut up a fallen tree that had trapped the animals in a flooded field in Lumberton, North Carolina.
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Tony Thompson stands in the wreckage of his mobile home as Florence moved inland over Newport, North Carolina, on September 16.
Robert Willett/Raleigh News & Observer//TNS/Getty Images
A woman and a young girl walk down a flooded road in Pollocksville on September 16.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
Floodwaters inundate parts of Trenton, North Carolina, on September 16.
Steve Helber/AP
Members of the Coast Guard help a stranded motorist in floodwaters in Lumberton, North Carolina, on September 16.
Jason Miczek/Reuters
A man peers from his flooded home in Lumberton on September 16.
Gerry Broome/AP
Members of a search-and-rescue team help an elderly resident onto a bus as they evacuate an assisted living facility in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Saturday, September 15.
David Goldman/AP
A member of the US Coast Guard checks on homes after Florence hit Newport, North Carolina, on September 15 .
Tom Copeland/AP
A neighbor takes photos of a boat smashed against a car garage near the Neuse River in New Bern on Saturday.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
A truck is submerged in floodwaters in Jacksonville, North Carolina, on Saturday.
Eric Thayer/The New York Times/Redux
Joseph Eudi surveys debris and storm damage at a home in New Bern, North Carolina, on September 15.
Gray Whitley/AP
A woman calls for help at her flooded residence as Florence brought large amounts of rain and floodwaters to Lumberton, North Carolina, on Saturday.
Alex Edelman/AFP/Getty Images
People wait in line to fill gas cans at a gas station that was damaged when Florence hit Wilmington, North Carolina, on Saturday.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
A baseball field on Mill Creek Road is filled with floodwater after Florence hit Newport, North Carolina, on Saturday.
Tom Copeland/AP
Mike Pollack searches for a drain in the yard of his flooded waterfront home in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Saturday.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Floodwaters from Florence inundate the town of Engelhard, North Carolina, on Saturday.
Steve Helber/AP
Ray Baca of Wilmington, North Carolina, checks his phone as he sits on a bench.
Al Drago/UPI/Newscom
A sailboat lifted by storm surge leans against a building at Bridgepointe Marina in New Bern, North Carolina, on Saturday, a day after Florence's landfall.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Kim Adams wades through floodwaters surrounding her home in Southport, North Carolina, on September 15.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Volunteers help rescue three children from a flooded home in James City, North Carolina, on Friday, September 14.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Russ Lewis covers his eyes from wind and sand in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on September 14.
David Goldman/AP
Volunteers help rescue people from their flooded homes in New Bern on September 14.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Waves crash into the Second Avenue Pier in Myrtle Beach on September 14.
Alex Edelman/AFP/Getty Images
The storm leaves a tree toppled in New Bern on September 14.
Atilgan Ozdil/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Soldiers from the North Carolina National Guard reinforce a low-lying area with sandbags in Lumberton, North Carolina, on September 14.
Andrew Nelles//The Tennessean/USA Today Network/SIPA
Robert Simmons Jr. and his kitten are rescued from floodwaters in New Bern on September 14.
Andrew Carter/The News & Observer via AP
Teddie Davis checks on one of the New Bern's signature bear statues toppled by the storm on September 14. Another one of the bears, in the background, ended up in the middle of a downtown street.
Chris Seward/AP
Rising waters threaten downtown Washington, North Carolina, as the Pamlico River overruns its banks on September 14.
Michael Candelori/NurPhoto/Sipa
An abandoned van sits on a flooded road near New Bern on September 14.
LOGAN CYRUS/AFP/Getty Images
A boat sits wedged in trees in Oriental, North Carolina, near New Bern, on September 14.
Angie Propst via AP
Members of a Federal Emergency Management Agency team from California search a flooded neighborhood in Fairfield Harbour, North Carolina, on September 14.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Rescue workers attempt to remove a giant tree that fell onto a house in Wilmington, North Carolina, on September 14. Two people died when the tree collapsed -- among the first storm-related deaths due to Hurricane Florence.
Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Shutterstock
Electric poles that snapped in half sway from their wires in Wilmington on September 14.
Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Shutterstock
Lee Casteen, left, and Try Hinton use a chainsaw to clear a tree blocking a road in Wilmington on September 14.
Victor J. Blue/The New York Times/Redux Pictures
Rescue workers help a woman and her dog from a flooded house in James City on September 14.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Michael Nelson floats in a boat fashioned from a metal tub and fishing floats after the Neuse River flooded September 13 in New Bern.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Powerful winds and waves destroy portions of a boat dock and boardwalk in Atlantic Beach on September 13.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Residents wade through streets flooded by the Neuse River in New Bern on September 13.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Astronaut Alexander Gerst posted this photo on Twitter of Hurricane Florence saying, "It's chilling, even from space." Gerst is aboard the International Space Station.
Alexander Gerst/ESA/Twitter
Evacuees take refuge at Burgaw Middle School in Burgaw, North Carolina, on September 12.
Caitlin Penna/EPA
Marge Brown says goodbye to her father, George Brown, before his evacuation from a health care home in Morehead City, North Carolina, on September 12.
David Goldman/AP
Workers take boats out of the water in Wanchese Harbor in Wanchese, North Carolina, on September 12 as the Outer Banks prepares for Florence.
Gerry Broome/AP
Astronaut Gerst also posted this photo to Twitter on September 12, saying, "Watch out, America! #HurricaneFlorence is so enormous, we could only capture her with a super wide-angle lens from the @Space_Station, 400 km directly above the eye. Get prepared on the East Coast, this is a no-kidding nightmare coming for you."
Alexander Gerst/ESA/Twitter
Jeff Bryant, left, and James Evans board the windows of a business in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Tuesday, September 11.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
People fill sandbags in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, on September 11.
Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Both lanes of Interstate 26 flow westbound in North Charleston, South Carolina, toward Columbia as people evacuate inland on September 11.
Mic Smith/AP
Laura Gretch holds Frances, a Chihuahua mix, as she helps unload cats and dogs arriving at the Humane Rescue Alliance in Washington from Norfolk, Virginia, on September 11.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
Veronica Gallardo and Robert Kelly place a plastic tarp over an American flag inside the Casemate Museum at Fort Monroe in Hampton, Virginia, on September 11.
Jonathon Gruenke/The Daily Press/AP
A man eyes a store's bare bread shelves as people stock up on food in Myrtle Beach on September 11.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Chuck Ledford, left, watches cartoons on a phone with his daughter Misty as they seek shelter at Emma B. Trask Middle School in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Tuesday, September 11.
Caitlin Penna/EPA
Scott Fleenor, bottom, and Jeremiah Trendell board over the windows of a business in Myrtle Beach.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
In pictures: Hurricane Florence and its aftermath
Officials in several states have declared states of emergency, including in the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia and Maryland, where coastal areas are still recovering from summer storms.
Florence is one of four named storms in the Atlantic. Tropical Storm Isaac is forecast to approach the Lesser Antilles Islands on Thursday. Hurricane Helene is veering toward Ireland and Great Britain. And newly formed Subtropical Storm Joyce is not expected to threaten land soon.
CNN’s Sara Weisfeldt, Dianne Gallagher, Ed Lavandera, Brandon Miller, Paul P. Murphy, Nicole Chavez, Curt Devine, Amanda Jackson, David Williams, Kaylee Hartung and Jason Hanna contributed to this report.