jillian: the theory of florence, epic and deadly storm triggering massive floods. connell: we continue with team coverage of florence, tropical storm now, wents barely exceeding 70 miles an hour but the winds don't matter anymore as forecasters warn the threat is far from over. such a slow-moving storm as it marches inland promising days of

catastrophic flooding across the carolinas. if we look at the images already devastating. jillian: stranded victims, homes destroyed. we keep getting updated numbers. so far nearly 1 million people without power. forecasters predict the area will get a years worth of rain before it is over. >> pretty scary. some of those 100 mile an hour gusts were frightening to watch at 6:00 in the morning as the sun was coming up. the street had the worst damage i have seen so far. connell: let's go to adam plots in the extreme weather center. we have been trying to deemphasize the wind all along and focus on what really matters, all this rain.

>> and the long-lasting nature of all this rain. when it came on sure there were spots that got 100 mile an hour gusts, that is no longer the case. as we look at the storm, it was a tight i will, now it is spreading out, the winds will keep weakening but everything you see behind it, more rainfall and such a slow-moving storm, the circulation passed into south carolina past myrtle beach but that is only 100 miles back from where it made landfall so moving very slow. water, rain falling on these locations. this entire time we are talking 48, 60 hours of consistent rain. winds not as strong, 40 or 50 mile an hour winds, the ground situated, trees will keep coming down with the ground as wet as it is. you see this moisture, it will continue to do so. the areas it has been raining

heaviest, tracking heavy thunderstorms, heavy downpours moving on to the coastal areas. that continues. you get very defined lines, 25, 30 inches and a couple miles away, 6 inches of rain. that is the setup but all the rain needs somewhere to go, we are seeing this flooding. the rain is not over. these are forecasted rainfall totals on top of 20 inches we have seen in some locations. adding another 10 to 20 inches of rain before this thing moves out of the area. that will be enough to fill rivers, 50 miles an hour, with the ground saturated as we are talking about, 30 or 40 inches of rain, still enough for more trees to come down, more power outages.

connell: the number keeps going up. when you add south carolina it is above 900,000, close to 1 million without power, duke energy said we might get between one and 3 million, we are so focused on coastal areas for obvious reasons but as it continues the next day or two how far inland is flooding a concern? even in a big city like charlotte? >> the good news if there is any, it will bring a lot of oyster but here is our storm. what will happen through today is it starts to move a lot faster. we will be stuck through saturday into sunday. i think areas in north carolina and south carolina, this does pick up and even though it keeps raining it isn't going to linger. connell: we will take it. not much good news but we will take it, so slow so far. connell: two feet or more of

rainfall on parts of north carolina the past two days and it is not over yet. forecasters predicting rain saturday into sunday, morehead city, north carolina, has seen two feet of rain but it stops for the time being. a couple minutes ago, the gas station behind you, that is incredible. >> reporter: the wind damage was unbelievable. 20 plus inches of rain and more coming but as you look here look at this devastation. this is the telltale sign of hurricane force winds whether it is a number or a 2, ripped it out of its holding. as you go along this major highway, at the base of the bridge to the barrier island you see all along the road trees ripped out by the roofs, roofs ripped off businesses and this

gas station absolutely pummeled and power lines down making it hard to get around this highway which had north towards newport and newburn, they are continuing rescues, 100 more they are actively pursuing, 375, extensive flooding to the north but also moments ago got off the phone with morehead city officials and they had a few rescues as well, 36 yesterday and 9 pets they had to rescue from harker's island. people still stranded there because of flooding. it is dry where i but flooded in lower areas. on the coastline where we started this tides coming back and more rain coming and people are worried about that because

it is difficult for energy crews and trucks and first responders to move around. what we are going to get into as the rain hits us again, people's mood turns sour it will make the logistics of mobility extremely difficult. there's a lot of cleaning up to do. north carolina will not be done with this for a long time. jillian: have you seen a lot of people who chose to stay in their homes, what they are thinking at this point? >> reporter: a fair amount of people decided to stay because of the downgrade but that might not have been a smart idea. people i talked to, a construction worker walking around saying, it is really going to pick up so excited about the business coming for him, one of the real rushes i

saw with houston and katrina, people that immediately days of impact communities but if they haven't experienced that it has to be hard and unsettling for a lot of people. >> it sure is. two years ago when matthew hit, it flooded jillian: we will find out in

upcoming days, weeks and months. >> forecasters have warned us about what florence would deliver when it comes to the flooding and turns out they were right. huntsville beach, north carolina it came on short 21 hours ago. with us again, it was 21 hours ago and seems you are not even out of it, the rain is coming down. >> the rain is coming down, some wind, color radar apps. i was amazed that we were getting plenty of rain. i have been covering tropical storms and hurricanes for more than 30 years and this is the slowest moving storm i can remember and that is frustrating for residents especially those who heated the mandatory evacuations, they are anxious to find out if their homes have been damaged or if their businesses will require repairs

but officials are worried about down power lines, debris in the road. they say it is not safe for people to come back to these barrier islands. it may be several days before people are able to check on their property. we have not been allowed to see most of the island. i say that is a disclaimer for what i am about to say, represents a small section of the island but from what little we have seen we are noticing some damaged awnings and roofing materials and siding damage but we haven't seen any shattered windows or major structural damage. the wind not a huge issue, at least not here on this section of this portion of north carolina but a huge concern is the potential for flooding as the storm came ashore.

it was storm surge. now as the storm begins its move inland the concern is heavy rains. rains in lens could cause flash flooding. the ground is saturated. many areas not used to handling this much rain over a long time. this is an unusually slow moving storm system. we are not in the clear just yet. connell: we are looking at video. even if you were allowed to get around the island would you be able to? that floodwater may be subsided but maybe not. streets around you could be fairly flooded out. >> reporter: the situation is evil thing. yesterday we were reporting in the afternoon looking at a main intersection, the base of the causeway bridge that leads to this island and there was maybe

a half foot of water, maybe a little more. we saw some official vehicles, thought about driving through it and then thought better, turned around and over the course of the next hour we saw the waters begin to reseed. as quickly as they reseed, in other parts there are heavy rain so it is driving at this point of the storm still very uncertain and that is why we tell folks if you can stay indoors it is a good idea to do that until this storm system moves through. connell: authorities warn people all the time you don't know how deep the water is, you try to drive into it. thanks, we will check back throughout the morning. jillian: andrew barrett, managing partner and program director at vector aeronautical, their business is medical evacuations by air. he joins us from the emergency

operations center. tell us what you have seen so far and what you have been experiencing. >> reporter: a new day here. our aircrews are eager to get to work. we have been part of 150 plus evacuations for the past 48 hours or so and because of increasing winds in the raleigh-durham area, early in the day on friday and eager to resume those, decreased below the 40 not wind gust level. jillian: you mentioned 150 plus medical evacuations. a lot have to do with high floodwaters, people trapped inside their homes. >> reporter: up until today the focus has been getting the most vulnerable patient populations

out of the hospital has the storm approached, looking at patients -- power outages and things like that. they are out of coastal areas. people on ventilators. jillian: where do they go? >> a majority of the patients we see impacted in the raleigh area and greensboro area and charlotte area, to hospitals. jillian: sounds like we are hearing a little sound from some of these rescues. have people been worried about the storm? >> we are an airplane based program. when we evacuate these patients, the local ground ambulance crews, interesting to coordinate

and work with those folks, those on the ground when the hurricane made landfall, the tension was palpable. we were working with ground crews. jillian: what are you in store for today? >> we hope to resume operations today is wind gusts decreased below 40 kn. at this point we are waiting to see where we go and where the critical need for us is. jillian: where do you get those orders from? how does the coordination work? >> prior to the hurricane, those coming from the hospital, where they are transported to. now that the hurricane is passing, federal programs start getting involved. those orders may start coming from fema.

>> thank you for joining us, we appreciate it. connell: great work, so many crews doing terrific work. they are the heroes who put their lives on the line when disaster strikes. jillian: the coast guard sales into action, what it is looking to prepare for and confront a monster storm. we will be right back. this wi-fi is fast.

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in many cultures, young men would stay with their families until their 40's. connell: continuing coverage of tropical storm florence. we have been talking overnight into the early morning about the slow-moving nature of the storm. it is for:20 on the east coast, sunrise is right before 7:00, 6:50, 6:51 depending on where you are and that is the challenge, you were talking to the gentleman in air rescue, they haven't had a chance to see what they were dealing with. jillian: it will be 24 hours, 21 hours since it made landfall as a hurricane and it has only

traveled about 100 miles. it is going 3 to 5 miles an hour. you talk about how slow-moving it is, how much rain has fallen, that will be a significant issue, and the flooding, flash flooding, and -- connell: the fifth district headquarters in portsmouth, virginia, lieutenant amanda falconer, thank you for coming on. let's us know what you think for the next few days. >> the next couple days, focused on life-saving operations for the coast guard. waiting for the storm to subside so we can get out, helping state and locals with emergency response. connell: what needs to happen to get out? must it stop raining or winds have to get below a certain level?

what is the qualification before the coast guard can perform rescues? >> helicopters, primarily winds. as soon as the wind is accessible to the operational commander, that is when we go out. yesterday -- the helicopter is ready to go, they had to land because the wind was too strong and they got up before sunset, connecting 7 missions before they stopped for the night. jillian: thank you for joining us. i have a question for you. have you been able to talk to any responders or rescuers? what areas have been hit hardest? where have they been performing a lot of different rescues and what folks are saying who were trapped in their homes?

>> reporter: most of the rescues have been on the northeast area, north carolina. it depends where the state needs us, looking towards the state. connell: in terms of challenges you run into, what are you or your crews worried about in the next few days? >> reporter: we are looking at safety of first responders. we are fighting it out -- we have to do it in a safe way. we are looking to make sure the coast guard does this every day, go out in severe weather every day. connell: looking at video that is coming in. always in these storms, dogs being saved, the gentleman in the raft coming in.

this particular area, riverbend, north carolina. the area of new bern has gotten hit hard. it is not the place you expect. those are difficult places to get to as well. >> reporter: yes. i know we had a pretty good idea where the flooding was going to be but you never know what the impact or severity will be after the evacuation orders. connell: the forecast -- >> they knew pretty well where it was going to hit and gave time for people to prepare. i'm curious how this compares to other storms you had in the past. >> this is similar to what we saw with hurricane matthew, just a lot of flooding, a lot of water.

that was just a big impact. the coast guard is ready to go. connell: we appreciate you calling in like this and taking a few minutes and we wish you the best to everybody working the next few days, thanks a lot. whether it is the coast guard or local authorities, the forecast for the carolinas more rain and a lot of it. it is moving so slow. jillian: meteorologists saying it will continue at least through saturday night into sunday. we will talk about the effect that water will have as coverage continues. these folks, they don't have time to go to the post office they have businesses to grow customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps.com print discounted postage for any letter any package any time right from your computer

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jillian: florence is a tropical storm but folks across the carolinas are warned not to let their guard down as this violent storm pummels their homes with record rainfall and flooding. florence is living up to her predicted fury. connell: million homes in north and south carolina without power and that number will fluctuate. duke energy was saying to million before the storm is said and done. many victims wondering what type of home they will have to return to once they are allowed back in. good morning, good to have you with us, our coverage continues. jillian: we continue with live coverage of tropical storm florence. leland: it is slowing down and as it stalls over the carolinas is packing a punch. some areas have two feet of rain and they could see another foot or two of rain.

griff jenkins rejoins us from the gas station that was destroyed by the storm. you wonder what daybreak will bring. >> reporter: it is going to bring rain but we are enjoying a break from the lashing we took last year. you wonder what they would come home to. here at morehead city they will come home to a lot of wind damage but the flooding is the story right now because of the area inland, near highway 70, the national weather service posting pictures of highway 70 on the way towards the town of newport and new bern where they had those rescues. i talked to those folks, they are pursuing 100 rescues, 375 yesterday. they have extensive flooding into the north they are totally

cut off greenville. it is unbelievable. look at this devastation. this gas station absolutely pummeled. it is not isolated. all along highway 70 in morehead, trees ripped out of the ground by their roots, roofs ripped off businesses, homes with trees smashed into them, power lines down. every street you go along with a lot of debris all over the road and the flooding is occurring here. the water can go back out but the rainfall, already expecting more. side streets, extensive flooding, 36 rescues yesterday, they will need more resources and the things they need will be shelters and resources like cots and generators to get the shoulders up.

in new bern they tell me they had so many rescues, they don't know where to put these people so the marine corps air station is up there. one thing is for sure, fair to say the total cost damage will be in the tens of millions if not higher but the troubling thing is while getting a break in the rain, we will get it again around 8:00 and that will complicate things because the bottom line is we have to get energy trucks in here, heavy hardware to get this debris out of here, homes repaired and that won't happen until mother nature starts cooperating. connell: you are right along the coast in morehead city. if you start moving north northwest, we saw the terrible video of flooding and greenville more north and a little more

west. where are the authorities as you understand it able to move in between and where are they cut off? >> best i understand talking to new bern officials an hour ago is they are able to get people in and out from the south and west of new bern and the area in between, new bern being the heaviest it because of the newport news river that crested at historic levels but to the north there is only one way or out, to totally shut down a bridge, totally flooded out and they cannot do much other than to have both landings to move supplies and when you are doing it in those flat bottom boats it is very slow. not only do they have to get supplies in but they have to get people out because they don't have anywhere to put them. power is another factor. there is no power, power is barely restored.

they are getting a little restoration but at the foot of the bridge of atlantic beach, stopping people from going over there. it is pitch black. you see nothing but a railroad crossing. it was hammered. there is no life whatsoever. atlantic beach, the barrier islands, runs parallel to morehead city, was absolutely crushed yesterday. that peter knocked away. i was talking to the police chief, he says they were hit hard by extensive flooding. 8:0 more rain from morehead city. what are people in store for as the sun starts to break and people wake up.

>> more bands of rain. there are spots where it is still raining. it is all falling apart, not totally falling apart but that tight i want comes spreading out, the wind weakening, the moisture is still there, still a very slow mover. and love to see this is not raining but that is not the case. still seeing the center of circulation several miles to the west, 100 miles from where this made landfall, over the course of 21 hours this is all the farther it has moved. the spots that have seen the rain will continue because it is a slow over and we will see showers, heavy showers with this system because of that. the rainfall in the last 24 hours, plenty of spots getting 20 inches of rain. 25 inches. from wilmington further north,

all areas radar indicated 25 inches, that rain is going to continue and here is what that looks like, some bands of rain and lighter areas but everything highlighted in red, those are flash flood warnings, still in place. the ground is so saturated and there is still a lot of moisture coming in off the coast. the concern moving forward as we talk about yes it will rain more through the course of the day, but concerned going past that is even as this rain begins to push off the water has to go somewhere. there has been so much rain, a years worth in the course of the last 30 hours that it begins to run into rivers and estuaries and has nowhere to go. everything you are looking at is moderate flood or major flood predicted through area rivers. you are talking all across north

carolina into south carolina. the water will continue to rise as this pushes off later this week in. a lot of these rivers expected to peak on sunday, tuesday or wednesday. once this rain wraps up by the end of the weekend, water could still rise. jillian: out of the carolinas people have been talking about how saturated they were from an especially wet summer. >> some areas in north carolina had already seen their typical years worth of rain so far this year. it has been a really wet summer and spring and they're getting an additional years worth. jillian: hard to comprehend that water. avenatti connell: two years of rain. already a terrible year. talking about how florence is moving at a glacial pace and it has been but packing quite a

punch as it continues to lash north and south carolina, torrential rain, intense storm surge, looking at the damage in its wake and we will have more in a moment.

jillian: 17 minutes until the top of the hour. tropical storm florence claiming four lives in north carolina. the first two happened friday when a tree fell through a house in wilmington tragically killing a mother and her infant. her husband was injured and taken to a local hospital. a neighbor now reaction to that tragedy. >> they were stocking up. i was talking up. it was a routine hurricane experience, but nobody can prepare for that. they had some old trees behind the house back there.

it was only a matter of time. you can't predict that part. connell: we talked about the fact that florence is expected to be downgraded to a tropical depression but also how that doesn't matter anymore. it is about the flooding. little consolation when you hear downgrades when hundreds of thousands of people whose lives and communities have been uprooted by the storm. in north carolina, talking to you throughout the night and early morning about the storm and how it came on shore. you got hit yesterday in the rain bands keep coming. >> because the storm system is moving so incredibly slowly, we knew this would be the case and yet we were amazed we woke up

and saw that it was still raining and looked at our radar apps and saw that we were in a theater band of this now downgraded tropical storm even though it is no longer packing hurricane force winds, florence poses a serious threat because of the seemingly incessant rains that will follow over not only the coastal areas but eventually inland areas of north and south carolina, increasing potential for flash flooding throughout the region. >> it has got to weigh on people emotionally. you said your self you covered hurricanes for years and years, you almost expect it to go away as quickly as it comes in, these storms, to say i got through it. but that weighs on people emotionally i would think after a day or two or three. >> reporter: absolutely. the best thing, a fast-moving

hurricane as far as attention spans go, you brace for it and if you weather the storm and the winds don't destroy your house and it moves out, the sun comes up and you come back and inspect your property. the frustrating thing about this slow-moving storm is authorities are not going to let people back into these areas until they determine things are safe. they need to allow power crews and others to assess whether there are downed power lines, how much debris there is on the road and they can't safely do that until the winds completely died down, rains stop and the threat of flash flooding is eliminated. they can do these assessments but their efforts are delayed. it is not as efficient as when the bright sunshine is out. it may be several days before people can come back and check on their homes and businesses and that is frustrating. >> what will they be dealing with at wrightsville beach? the wind, category one is a serious storm but not as serious

as a 3 or 4. what about the flooding damage? the speech front homes on stilts, will they be protected? or will it be a tough situation? >> reporter: there are some older structures at ground level but most of the homes here and apartment complexes and condominiums are up on stilts, the condominium complex we are staying in the first floor is the second floor because we are elevated on stilts and that is common sense because of the storm surge that can frequently come in here, it will save you a lot of headaches down the road and prevent you having to deal with a lot of flood damage. most of the newer construction has been spared from storm surge. people are going to come back and see minor damage to roofs and siding, maybe some debris in

the roads. connell: stay safe throughout the day. reporting for wrightsville beach, north carolina. first responders have been on high alert getting set for days of rescue operations and emergency cleanup as this tropical storm florence continues to recover can the carolinas. we will talk to the fire chief in charleston, south carolina. the city that may be dodged the worst of it on friday. we will be right back. has been a really smart decision for our business. i love the custom ink design lab because it's really easy to use. they have customer service that you can reach anytime. t-shirts help us immediately get a sense of who we are as a group. from the moment clients walk in, they're able to feel like part of the family. - [spokesman] custom ink has hundreds of products for your business and free shipping. upload your logo or start your design today at customink.com.

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jillian: the fire department in charleston, south carolina has been busy preparing for florence. traffic control and evacuations started handing out handbags and had fires to deal with. joining us is charleston chief daniel -- are meteorologist said 45 mile-per-hour winds, rain expected in the forecast today. what have you been dealing with so far? >> reporter: so far we haven't had the weather that our neighbors to the north have had. we have dodged a bullet. we had some drizzle, wind gusts but nothing compared to what everybody else is getting.

jillian: you have been assisting, handing out sandbags. what is the conversation going on your community? are people feeling fortunate that if you haven't been hit as hard as your northern counterparts, what have you been doing to help those areas? >> the feel as we have been very fortunate. as far as our neighbors there has been conversation at the city level about providing whatever assistance we can once we ensure we have everything we need in charleston. the neighborly thing is to get out. connell: the forecast before the storm came on shore was charleston might be dealing with the worst of it. thank goodness that did not happen.

how will you make a decision whether you are in a position, you love to help people who need help but if you are in a position you can lean your own city and help others? >> in preparation for the storm. and outside charleston, as the weather picture big cans more clear, turning resources to help our neighbors and once we get a handle on the rainfall total that charleston experienced we should be able to have a good gauge, whether we have the resources, and help others. >> a lot of people in your town and community very thankful they

are waking up and didn't get the worst of the storm but still you are in for a lot of rain, strong winds, nothing to mess around with so what is your message this morning as people in your community are waking up? >> the message is this is a tropical storm, we have done a lot of preparation in the city. people cannot take this lightly. stay inside. if you are in charleston, stay inside and let us have the opportunity to do what we do best which is help the community. if you chose to evacuate charleston, make sure you stay outside the city so we can make sure everything is safe and the storm has passed and we work on getting you back in. connell: ever see one like this that move this slow? >> this one seems to be fairly odd in my experience.

i think every hurricane is a bit different. you take it for what it is worth, listen to what the experts have to say and the meteorologists have to say. it doesn't change the fact that you plan for them the same way. you just have to be able to adapt and deal with what you are given. >> we thank everybody who was in a position to help the residents of the community. a lot of people displaced from their homes, they are nervous and upset, a lot of emotions when you go through this. thank you so much for joining us and for everything you are doing for the community. connell: continuing coverage of tropical storm florence. we will be right back on the fox news channel.

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and i have never seen this. i come here every week to ride my bike. never seen anything like this. connell: florence marches on waging a relentless assault on the east coast with deadly force, and epic storm packing powerful winds but it is the record rainfall that triggered the massive floods. good to have you with us. i am connell mcshane. jillian: florence once again a category 4 hurricane than a tropical depression. the danger is far from over a