>> this is a powerful storm that can kill. >> jon: it's 2:00 a.m. in the carolinas and florence, now a category 1 hurricane, still packs violent winds as she continues her brutal assault on the east coast. it's creeping farther inland, 9. wind speed is not the main concern for the people in the storm's path. the biggest threat is rain which is expected to drench the carolinas for days.

life-threatening storm surges. neighborhoods are under several feet of water and tens of thousands of people are without power. that number could climb into the millions in the days ahead. in the coming hour we'll take you live to some of the places in the direct line of the hurricane. >> it's not the category, it is the epic amounts of flooding we are going to have. >> jon: let's check in with adam live in the fox extreme weather center. he has the latest on this category 1 storm. >> we got our 2:00 a.m. update, kept the wind speeds at 90 miles an hour. we got closer to the coast, we have been seeing it moving at 6 miles an hour. this is now the center of this storm now sitting 35 miles from

wilmington. wilmington is not directionally off the coast, closer to 15 miles off the coast is the center of circulation. the bands with the most intense wind are beginning to approach the coastline. you are getting the bands of the heaviest rain batter the coastline. the rain and wind at its strongest. we'll climb for the next couple of hours. but we are getting to that point where the wind are picking up. here's where they sit currently. 50 to 60 miles per hour range. we saw a gust on land of 70 miles an hour. some of the buoys have picked up winds of 76 miles an hour. the wind will continue to tick up as the rain will continue to fall this entire time. now, everything you are looking at here in the red, these are your hurricane force wind, they are up there at 80, 90 miles an

hour. they run along the coast tonight into early top morning before weakening. everything in the yellow, those are tropical force wind. winds 40 to 50 miles an hour. there are places like wilmington here where you are going to go several days where the wind doesn't let up. you are getting 40 to 50-mile an hour winds for as much as a 50 to 60 hour time frame. power outages are going to be a problem. they will be worse where you have the see the highest winds. it could get up to a million or 2 million customers if this wind moves the way it is. it's driving the storm surge locations, expected to get up to 8, 9, 10 feet of storm surge. inland areas, i was looking at some of the recent data we have.

there's a report in new bern of a surge. finally, the other large concern we have been talking about this, because it's a slow mover, that's taking you tomorrow evening, taking you into saturday, it moves so slow it rains that entire time. obviously, rain is going to continue to be a huge concern. on top of everything else i said, we have mentioned it 20, 30, 35 inches of rain. and that is only going to make problems worse, especially when you are talking about people who already don't have power. it's going to be a tough situation. >> jon: it was forecast to come ashore as a stronger storm. even 24 hours ago. that rainfall is going to be a problem. this is going to be a potentially deadly storm.

>> yes, it is. >> jon: adam, thank you. wrightsville beach, north carolina, one of the communities expected to see and feel the full wrath of hurricane florence. what are you seeing and hearing right now, jonathan? >> good morning to you. the wind are certainly picking up. we lost power less than half an hour ago. we were amazed how long we were able to keep it. but then just half an hour ago we heard a loud noise of a transformer blowing. off in the distance, we'll see these bright green flashes as transformers blow. most of this island community is in the dark. the only reason you can see me right now, we are running off of battery power. our location is still potentially in the eye of the storm. that concerns local officials because of the relative calm of the eye. residents will come out of their shelters, want to inspect

damage, there's dangerous debris, there may be live power lines on the ground. so they are urging people to stay in their shelters through the entire duration of this storm, not be lulled into a sense of complacency if and when the eye passes over. then adam was mentioning the flooding in new bern. this is further up the coast, because of a different wind direction, the wind is pushing water towards the shore, not only on the beach, but up trick ooowtributaries. a gauge measured floodwaters of up to 10 feet in that location. right now where i am in wrightsville beach, we are looking at a lot of rain and a lot of wind as we are beginning to feel the brunt of this storm. back to you. >> jon: all right. we'll check in with you later.

thanks very much. the hurricane also impacting atlantic beach, north carolina, producing inland rainfall, flooding, life-threatening storm surge and destructive wind. that's where we find griff jenkins right now. >> good morning. the situation right here, the eye of the storm is just about, from what adam was saying, 30 miles south southwest of where we are here in morehead city. that means the northeast dirty side of the hurricane is putting the wind here. you are seeing the structures blow. the water is significant because we have been watching for the storm surge the whole time. in atlantic beach, i have been in contact a few minutes ago with the chief fire department chief, adam snyder over there. i said how is it over there, he said we are getting killed from wind and surge. he sent me a photo of the fire house getting destroyed over

there. i asked him about that pier. things are starting to wobble. we have seen some images here in morehead city. jonathan was talking about new bern. you go by it when you come here. i was looking on-line. the charlotte news observer reporting that the river, the fact that the news river is overflowing 9, 10 feet is significant. two years ago when matthew flooded, it was catastrophic. the problem is how early this has happened. this storm has an entire 24 hours likely to bring. it was well after the storm hit that you had the situation. if you look at what's going on here, this water will go back out to sea. but there we have the rivers. all funneling down to this area. you are talking about entire

small communities being under water for possibly days, even weeks. that was certainly the case in matthew in some areas. that makes it difficult. that's why a few of the residents here on atlantic beach decided at the last minute when it downgraded to 2 to not evacuate, they didn't want to get cut off from their livelihood. you saw the devastation. you got to get the drywalls down. people don't want to be separated from that for days or weeks. this is significant wind. there was a recording at 92 miles an hour right over there on atlantic beach. it is next to the coast guard station. my sense is if we take wind like this and you got the rain coming down, we are in for a very, very long next 24 hours. >> jon: and the power lines, as

has been pointed out, the transformers are blowing, power is gone for a lot of people in that part of the area. that makes for a long night when they can't get on their computers, can't tune into the television and find out where the storm is and what's happening to it. >> that's exactly right. this is one of the most affected from power outages. that happened hours ago, yesterday. now you are depending on these communities to get to the inland areas cut off. if you are raleigh, you can't get in here. highway 70 is cut off in numerous places already from road flooding. you can see that going on on the app. this water, we are starting to see this water come up. those docks, it's not over that yet. but when that storm surge comes,

because we had high tide around midnight. we'll get another high tide around noon. if this storm sit and stays low, we'll compound to the wind devastation and the power lines down and power outages to this water coming into the city. if you just go a little bit over a bridge here to my direction, south this way, you get to boford. it's low lying. it always floods. one resident has not gotten back to me. at this point, at this early point, the contacts i have made, i have one shrimp fisherman in new bern, we are doing life checks to see how they are doing. >> jon: all right. the wind is strong there. thanks, griff. the american red cross mobilizing into action. it has 1500 workers on the

ground. joining us from durham, north carolina, holly baker. holly, what is the agency's top priority right now? >> good morning. our top priority is the safety of all the people who could possibly be affected by this disaster. our hearts are broken for anybody who has to experience this in any extent. we have over a thousand workers from around the country here to help prepare for this and then we will be responding to it for the weeks and months that come following hurricane florence. >> jon: it's going to be as tough for the red cross as it is with other agencies if trees are down, power lines are down. how do you handle that? >> we had to prepare in advance for this. we have 130 shelters already open across north and south

carolina and virginia. we have a red cross emergency app where people can go and find the nearest shelter for them. that's where everyone is welcome, to have a safe place to sleep, a safe place to stay and ride out the storm, until they can figure out when they can go back home. i was in a shelter yesterday and met a woman with her four children who were from new bern, north carolina. they were grateful to have a place to go and be able to be safe an she knew she could have her whole family with her. her children were 11 to 8 months old. i was able to talk to that family and reassure them that we would be there for them. she had a place to sleep and meals. the red cross is going to be there every step of the way. >> jon: you are also going to be supporting the first responders, the fire and police who are going to respond to the

aftermath of this storm. >> oh, yes. disasters such as this creates way more needs than any single organization can handle on their own. we are going to be there to support our first responders and we are all in this together. >> jon: for those who might be thinking about going to a shelter yet, the eye wall has not quite made it to shore. there's time to evacuate in part of the carolinas. what do you tell them to bring with them? >> absolutely. if they are still able to evacuate and that's the orders of the area they are in they should do, we encourage them to bring comforting items, personal care items, toothbrush and personal papers, anything important like that. and also bring anything you need that might bring some comfort to you, especially things for children. and we are going to provide food

and shelter. it's going to be a safe place for them to go. it's something that people really need to consider right now, safety is a top priority. >> we hope that all of the folks in your shelters appreciate the help that you are offering them and that everybody gets their safely and gets home safely. this is going to be a very dangerous and long-lasting storm. holly baker from the red cross. thank you. >> thank you. >> jon: hurricane florence is moving at a glacier pace. serious flooding occurring in coastal areas. the latest on the storm surge as the eye wall is miles away from pushing on shore. now a lot about drama. from scandalous romance, to ridiculous plot twists. (gasping) son? dad!

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>> jon: the outer bands of hurricane florence battering wilmington, north carolina. city officials are concerned the amount of rain could cause the cape fear river to flood the historic district. how are the water levels right now, ray? >> i have been paying close attention to the water levels.

the cape fear level is where it should be. i look one block off, it's not flooding yet. however, because of the amount of rain we had, it is beginning to pool in the streets. and then as i turn around here, we got this construction site. they are in the early stages of making the foundation of what is going to be a big building with a parking garage attached. that's completely covered in water. there's got to be a couple of feet. there was a lot of supplies sitting around. looks like they got it out of there quickly as soon as they knew this hurricane was going to be as bad as it is. the crane is laid down behind me. earlier today it was a few puddles. one thing i want to mention, jon, we talked about the battleship north carolina, whether or not it's holding up. it seems to be okay. now, because of this heavy rain we have been getting, and as we

mentioned this storm is moving so slowly, about 6 miles an hour, one of the things we are looking at now are flash flood warnings. new hanover county does have one until 6:00 p.m. on saturday. one of the reasons is the storm surge we could be anticipating, 7 to 11 feet in this area, we talked about before hurricane matthew in 2016 where one man said the storm surge was forecasted to be four to five feet and it came up to his waist. we'll pay close attention to this. the on the thing we are looking at is the power. over 170,000 people in north carolina have lost power already. duke energy, one of these big gusts come through, duke energy said there could be up to 3 million people who could lose power. the streets keep going on and

on. same with our hotel. because we are at the angle we are at with our hotel, we are missing some of these bigger gusts. it's being blocked. you can feel it whipping straight around constantly. in the last 20 to 30 minutes it's gotten worse. i can see it not just in the way the trees are moving, but also the way the water and street is pushed so heavily. there is whitecaps in the cape fear river. this water is really, really being pushed quicker. we are going to continue to watch that, jon. >> jon: ray in wilmington, north carolina. thanks, ray. let's check in with warren, former deputy assistant secretary for strategic communications and public affairs at the department of homeland security. lauren, this is going to be a long ordeal for folks. this is not going to be the kind of hurricane that blows into town and out of town quickly. this is going to be hovering over the carolinas for a while.

>> people have to be really careful and safe in this situation. while the hard part of the storm will pass and it will seem like it is okay, the power outages and heavy flooding is where the real problems are going to begin. i know fema and the government and local officials said this time and again, it only takes 6 inches of water to knock someone over and two feet to flood a car and have it float down the road. stay indoor, stay off the roads, stay off the beaches and water ways until local officials say it's safe to go back out again. >> jon: for those who haven't evacuated, it's getting to the late in the process. if someone decides now the storm is getting scary, it's not a good time to head for shelters. >> no. if you are in a situation where you can evacuate, please do.

check with your local officials. folks will be able to tell you for sure if you are in an area that's able to be evacuated. if not, make sure you have your provisions, stay indoors and check in to have all of your devices charged and ready to go. and be ready to wait this storm out and thought go outdoors again until the officials have said it's safe to be outside again. >> jon: the federal government prepositions relief for storms like this so when it's finally over, they can roll in with as much help as possible. but again, with the flooding we are talking about and trees down and so forth, it could be a while before some of that relief can get in to these stricken areas. >> absolutely. i think at this point the local officials are going to have to wait until the water recedes and it's safe to proceed. just like we saw with harvey and other disasters, they have

helicopters and other resources they can use to save people if that is needed. but once again, it's going to be difficult until the storm passes. you want everyone to stay safe for as long as possible, there might not be help for a while. >> jon: harvey might be the best recent example. it's parked on top of houston for quite a while. and that's essentially what this thing is going to be doing for the next couple of days. >> the flooding is what really hurt during harvey. people thought it was okay, you saw time and again, on this network and on thes, cars were swept away, there was a lot of volunteers and dhs officials that were out and local officials out having to save people from their cars getting washed away. it's going to be important that people stay safe in the aftermath of this storm.

>> jon: lauren, thanks for sharing your expertise with us tonight. >> absolutely, thank you. >> jon: thousands left without power as florence's outer bands slam the carolina coast. a live report where water levels are quickly rising as officials warn of a looming disaster. [ loesch ] this is superbeets and i swear by it.

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our greatest concern about this storm remains the same. storm surge and massive flooding. both are going to be extreme. >> jon: it is 2:30 eastern time. we continue our live coverage of hurricane florence as she slowly pushes her way into the carolinas where water levels are rapidly rising and homes being torn apart. forecasters fear this could go on for days. let's get a check on the forecast. adam? >> you were talking about how the level of the storm, the wind of the storm, may be weaker than projected, category 1, 90-mile and hour wind. that's true, but what we'll notice is the slow movement of this, even the wind we are seeing, are going to be relentless. because the spot being hit are going to continue to be hit for

hour after hour. let me show you where the storm s there's the center of circulation, just off the coast of north carolina. it's about 30 miles from wilmington. if you run it directly to the coast, closer to 15 miles, the strongest wind we do have are right around the eye wall which is approaching the coast, the closer you get, the higher the numbers go, the more rain you will see from this. here are recent wind gusts. we see spots climbing up into the 60s in the coastal communities. still out in the water, that's where the winds are the strongest. we have a 96-mile an hour gust, 70-mile an hour gust on a buoy. it's going to sit there. it's not just the 60-mile an hour wind, it's hours and hours of a 60-mile an hour wind. that can wear down spots, trees start to topple, power goes out.

everything in the highlighted area are hurricane force winds. they will continue tonight and into tomorrow. everything in the yellow, those are tropical force wind. it is going to stick around for a good 40 to 50 to 60 hours. we are looking at wide spread power outages, the most severe happening along the coast. but i do think as the water continues to move on in and ground soggy, trees will continue to come down here. that wind is going to be enough to knock down branches and take out power. it's fueling that storm surge, spots getting up to 8, 9 feet. some of the inland water ways, we have seen reports in new bern up to 10 feet already. that's verifying in this case. the slow storm certainly makes you think it's going to happen.

it's moving so slow that the rain is going to be able to add up. the rain already falling at a quick rate. we are estimating in spots getting up to 20 to 30 inches. it's the heaviest rain happening where the storm is sitting. even as this storm moves off, i think downwin, places in south carolina, are still going to be getting up to 8 to 10 inches of rain. typically a lot of hurricanes, that's all you get from the entire system. other spots getting 20 to 30, this is definitely a heavy rainmaker. >> jon: adam, our meteorologist, thanks. storm surge watches are in effect in atlantic beach, north carolina. that's where griff jenkins joins us. >> the wind are picking up here. i don't know if you can see this, but little fish are blowing out of the water as we are starting to get a real surge of this water.

this is morehead city. we are separated by a bay from atlantic beach. they are getting hammered by wind and storm surge and it's early. if you look at the quadruple threat that north carolina is facing from the wind and the surge, and that flooding and extensive rainfall, you get to paint a picture of what is going to happen for the next several days in north carolina and certainly in this part. we are just a little south of the outer banks. it's taken a lot of the brunt of this. we are getting the dirty side, the northeast quadrant of this storm pushing down on us now. when you go inland 40 miles northwest of us, you have the rivers, all trying to funnel down here into this area. the problem is that the noose river is already cresting at 9

or 10 feet. they cannot handle that kind of water because there is nowhere for the water to go. it hits hog farms. two years ago when matthew hit, it devastated that area with floods. we are getting a gust now, i will take ahold now. we are getting images from inside more city. all the way from raleigh all the way here to morehead city, we have a lot of destruction. the combination of the wind and surge we are starting to see come up along with the excessive flooding that's happening this early in the storm and excessive rainfall that's going to stay with us for the next 24 to 36 hours, this is a bad combination. i have been looking on google maps to see whether or not you can cross over 70 in areas between here and new bern going

up, you cannot. as you see, we are getting a few gusts that are quite strong. at fort maycon there was a recorded 92 high an hour gust. this is a sustained 70, 75. it is this water we are starting to watch. because as this comes up, we have another high tide coming in, we have to be very, very careful. because this can come into morehead city. once things go under water, you got a bad recipe, jon. >> jon: and we are hearing that in new burn, that 150 people are trapped and awaiting rescue. the city sending out a notification that their rescue attempt is under way. apparently some fema swift water rescue teams are available.

people are told to move into their se second story. the water lefts have raised 10, 11 feet. it's going to be a surprise for a lot of people that the water levels are coming up so high so quickly. >> that's right. the noose river, i'm trying to contact a gentleman that lives there. his name is captain jerry, he's the head of north carolina shrimp fisheries. they preposition, they got a dry run with the flooding. new bern got hit hard there. the problem is battling the elements. i'm having a hard time standing here talking to you. once the water comes up, mobility is greatly restricted. >> jon: everybody has been

talking about how this storm is not as intense as it was forecast to be. we can see in the video, just standing up is a big channel for you in morehead city, griff. >> the people that decided to stay, it's a cat 2 and not a cat 4, their decision was based on because they didn't want to be separated from their property because they worried about the storm surge and flooding more. yesterday when i talked to the chief of police, i said what's your biggest worry here. he said it's the flooding that's coming. that gives you some indication that people would be willing to try and ride this out to avoid the flooding than to actually have to be stranded where you can't get past new bern and on the areas. it's between a rock and a hard place. you got to put life an limb over

property. >> jon: okay. griff jenkins in morehead city. hurricane florence is downgraded to a category 1 hurricane. still packing massive rain. still to come, we'll go live to one community that is right in the path of all of this destruction. but some give their clients cookie cutter portfolios. fisher investments tailors portfolios to your goals and needs. some only call when they have something to sell. fisher calls regularly so you stay informed. and while some advisors are happy to earn commissions

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to the eye of the storm and the counterclockwise rotation of the storm, for much of the night the wind have been blowing across this island long ways. but as you move up the coast, the wind direction is forcing water inland. i'm talking about the city of new bern, we have video to show you of the noose river which is overflowing its banks. there is a usgs gauge that says flooding is approximately ten feet in that area. there is a haunting tweet from the city of new bern that came out announcing currently 150 awaiting rescue in new bern. we have two out of state fema teams here for swift water rescue. more are on the way to help us. we are coming to get you. you may need to move up to the sec story or to your attic, but we are coming to get you. that last sentence in bold

letters. but back here in wrightsville beach, barrier island off the coast of wilmington, we are beginning to feel the brunt of the storm. it's possible that the eye of the storm later today will pass over us, that relative calm period of the storm. local officials urging people in shelters not to be lulled into a sense of complacency. many people like to go out and explore during the eye, but there is a chance there is dangerous debris on the ground, potentially live power lines. they are telling people to remain indoors until the storm passes completely over. back to you, jon. >> jon: all right. thank you, jonathan. hurricane florence will leave a trail of damage, flooding and power outages as it heads slowly inland. jackie joins us with more. >> all eyes on north carolina right now where more than 70 out of the 100 counties have

declared a state of emergency. north carolina is reporting more than 180,000, south carolina with more than 4,000 and virginia skyrocketing in the last hour with 2800. duke energy, the major power supplier for north and south carolina estimates up to 3 million customers to lose power. they are sending out equipment, resources and crews. officials have been warning of the possibility for extended outages. most power equipment can't be used in high winds and flooding will delay response time. >> it's the largest contingent we have had for the storm. we'll be ready for it. >> a storm surge warning is in effect for several counties. there is a danger of

life-threatening flooding. scary statistics from the north carolina department of public safety. six inches of water cannot down an adult. 12 inches of water can carry a small car and two feet of water can carry away most vehicles. the public water systems are experiencing problems and they have issued boil water advisories. >> jon: jackie keeping an eye on the storm. thank you. hurricane florence is a category 1 storm now. top sustained winds 90 miles an hour. that doesn't make it any less dangerous. it's moving in a northwesterly direction at 6 miles an hour. it is expected to dump rain for 48 hours on the carolinas and beon. creating life-threatening flooding and storm surge conditions. stay with us as we keep you up to date on the destruction of hurricane florence.

>> jon: it is being called a monster form. florence is bigger than the states of north and south carolina combined and certain to leave a wide path of destruction

when she finally departs. joining us by phone is steven legislatorman, a forme. a long time expert on hurricanes, where do you think florence is going to rank on the power scale? >> well, certainly i expect millions of people will not have power. something this large that covers, you mentioned the state of north carolina, even influencing virginia and south carolina already. >> jon: the fact this was downgraded from category 4 down to a category 1. that is good news, but it still does not necessarily -- this is still going to be a powerful storm with catastrophic

consequences. >> that's right. a cat 4 hurricane would have been devastating in terms of wind damage. we'll still see wind damage. structures on filling stages, houses with windows broken out and trailers will be completely destroyed. all that is going to happen. nothing like cat 4. we still have a large storm and a lot of rain. and it's creeping along, and touch keep in mind that the slower the hurricane moves, the more rain you are going to get in the area. being so large, it's also going to mean a lot more rainfall. the real danger here in addition to the storm surge which is now being experienced in north carolina is the fresh water flooding, and that's going to be extensive. >> jon: i was in hurricane hugo when it hit charleston.

it came and went. the morning after the storm, people were assessing damage and cleaning up. they are not going to be able to do that in this one, the rain is still pouring down. >> i had never seen anything like that before. power poles were broken like matches. we won't see anything like that. it's going to be there for a couple of days, they go down to south carolina, the low country, these areas are quite low. the rivers overflow their banks to considerable extent and it will stay like that for a long time. the biggest problem is going to be drownings in this case. the direct impact of the hurricane. then the aftermath, people have to worry about downed power lines. and people getting electrocuted and that kind of thing. >> jon: as rick pointed out, the

ground is saturated. it's been a wet summer. now throw in more rainfall and a lot of wind, there are going to be lots an lots of trees coming down. >> that is true. since it is saturated, tree damage is going to be huge. i have seen houses where the big ones can go through a small house or trailer. i would be concerned about that sort of thing. >> jon: we certainly wish your home state well as it and south carolina continue to battle this storm. thank you. >> my pleasure. >> jon: our coverage of hurricane florence continues in a moment as forecasters renew warnings of catastrophic storm surge. stay tuned. - [announcer] no one chooses (energetic electronic music) to lose their hair. hair club can help you get your hair back.

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>> friday, september 14th, this is a fox news alert, the fury of hurricane florence hammering north and south carolina coasts at this hour. the category one storm moving slow but steady. a foot of rain falling with winds topping 100 miles an hour and it is just getting started. with landfall hours away. you are watching an early addition of "fox and friends first" this friday morning, thank you for joining us