>> i hope it's happeng. >> get that going, . good morning. i'm marley hall. >> i'm philip mena. just hours away from ndfall, the outer bands of the storm are shooting seawater inland, leaving tens of thousands without pow. rmthough the s has now beenwn dograded to a category one,is it till wreaking havoc with sustained winds at 90 miles per hour. as florence pushes its way onto the mainland, the mostanrous part is the storm surge. according to forecasters, the sheer size of this massive storm is larger than bot ofhe

carolin carolinas combined. it's expected to dump 40 inches of rain in some areas. >> our meteorologist is tracking the storm from here. where is it now, michelle? >> we're going to talk about it for a long time. right now, it is 35 miles east of wilmington, where we expect it to make landfall, 90 miles per hour, aor cat one storm moving at 6 miles per hour. we mentioned theul pai slow pace. we're going to continue to see that painfully slow pace. could slow down even further than that. it will take a little time to movenshore. we'r expecting 11:00 oa.m. this morning. the radar lit up with colors indicating heavy, rheavy rain. as we gohe throughout next 24-4 24-48 hours, take a look at these winds. even along the coast we are

looking at tropical storm force winds, hurricane force winds. some spots t seeint straight through for 24 hours and certainly causing lots and lots of damage. we already have life-threatening storm surge going on and water rescues as well. your rain forecast as we go throughout monday, we are looking at up to 20 inches of rain. and eve inland, we're expecting rain. fu rher down thed into the mid atlantic we'll seat remnants of thee storm o it makes its way up there. storm surge, this is a big, big one. we're looking at f7-11t in wrightsville beach. >> we will be checking in with you throughout the next fews. ho as the storm continues to bear down, relief is already on the

ground. the red cross has 1500 disaster rkers in place with thousands more taking advantage of the shelters. joining us by phone is betsy rortson of the red cross. thank you so much for joining us this morning. what type of relief effortre you prepared for over there? >> caller: well, we're preparing for a massive response that could stand up to as many as 11 states. right now the concentration is in virginia, north carolina and south carolina. that's where we have prepositioned people and supplies theer tens of thousands of people throughout this storm until it's decided how quickly and how many people are able to return to their home. >> are you taking in any displaced ridents right now? the storm's already starting to lash the coast there. are you still taking anybody in >> caller: i sure hope so. i would encourage anyone who has

not yet, you know, lives in aha community tt may be in the hurricane's path and it hasn't arrived ye take thisy opportunit get to one of those safe locations. theyre easy to findt red cross.org. there la be owill be one within reasonable distance of where you live. ow while safe place you still can. >> betsy, i have a question for you. how long doou expect people to need shelters? >> caller: it's really impossible to tell at this point. florence hasn't even fully come ashore yet. she hasn't made her way through the commuty. personally am nervous about the amount of rain that's stl to come. where it's going to fall, where it's going to go, where it flows to once it comes i ther no way to predict how many communities, how many individual households are going

to be impacted and how quickly they'll be able to get back into their homes. so our shelters are going to be available with cots and food and meals and additional assistance for as long as they are needed. >> what areas, what cities have the biggest red cross presence as we speak? >> caller: well,hi i a great visual, if you're able to pull it up is at our website or on the app. there is an intense concentration of the shelters e sdcuation centers on the north carolina ath carolina coast. it is impressive and also truly, facilitiesnumber of that are available, 130 locations. so the conntration is o the coast, but we are certainly keeping in mind that a lot of ople are getting out and going inland. so we're setting up places deep inland, in safe locations for people to evacuate to and get to, to ride out the storm. until it's safe to go hom

>> what can people do once the storm has passed? >> caller: well, that's going to really, we want people to stay in touch with their local officials. have a way to stay in touch and town.ws from your don't go back until it is absolutely deemed safe for yount to go back your community. it's a little unpredictable ayght now. the best to get that information is to know that you have a channel to your local officials. emergency'rfficials. th going to be the ones who tell you when it's safe to go back. >> betsy robertson with the american redross joining us this morning. thank you so much. >> now let's go to cal perr driving through wilmington, north carolina where they are currently under a hurricane warning. good morning, cal. what are the conditions like on t the ground there? >> it's gotten worse in the last hour or two. we're seeing sustained hurricane-force winds. asou drive five, ten miles in

any direction, the conditions can cnge as those bands sort of whip through. we sort of cleared the back end of one of those vicious bands. you're going to see some police activity in fro of us in about a half-mile. that's one of the bridges to these outer island beaches. these bches are very well closed off at this point. the evacuation's sort of finished on those beaches about 12 hours ago. es you look in front of us again, you going to see one of those bridges. this one to wrightsville beach to the east of wilmington. it's length of this stormal thas going to be a problem. when you look at the speed of the storm, it's going to be 24, 48 hours before the officials can get out and sort of the damage. so you'll go through these quiet periods. as the bands whip through, it's going to be another day or two condition >> you were saying there is a gap between these bands that

arityiare w tting you. ng would you say are these gaps? >> reporter: i would have to say it's beenbout 30 minutes between the bands as they come through. and it gives you sort of a scope of how big this storm is. the meteorologist predictions are for wilmington that we see the eye of the storm take sort of four or five hours to sort of cross over the top of the city. to give you an idea when the orm is only moving at four or five miles per hour how long peole are going have to endure these conditions for, philip. >> have you decided when you are going to take shelter? right now it looks fairly and relatively calm. but as we he spoken at great length, it is going to get worse as the evening progresses into the morning. >> reporter: yeah, this is about as calm as it's been all night, actually between these bands. we're going to st down at about 65 miles per hour, 70ho miles pe sustained winds.

that's when authorities can't get out andp people. that's when we become a burden on the public support system. we'll bunker down. and that could be for the sort of duration of the daylight here in the that's how close the storm is moving, philip.e >> stay s out there. let's go to meteorologistmi elle grissom. she's back with an update. >> it's goingo be several days and a story for weeks beyond this. we are looking at radar right now, heavy rain. you're seeing intermitt tent ra where he is. and then lighter colors. we have watches in 15 counties. at's a big look at the weather story of the day. here's a closer look at your day ahead. we're looking at storms in the northern plains, a hot one in the temperatures near 100 degrees in some spots. southern texas also looking for a chance of showers and

thunderstorms. temperatures in the low to upper80s. so this is a big, big story. florence willake a big, big impact far and wide. it's going to affect a lot ofop . >> and we'll be covering it for weeks to come. now to a sta look at the h impact ofurricane florence along the coast. as you can see, people heeded the warnings about the storm. alle carariers canceled flight. decisions about resuming flights will like lay ly be made tomorr. >> you're watching "early today." a special editionf "early today" on a friday. what's the #1 new skincare product in 2018? omg! it's olay. that's crazy! olay regenerist whip. olay whips absorbs faster than the $100, $200, and even $400 cream. i feel like it just melted into my skin better. it's really smooth and it's not heavy.

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>> reporter: hey, philip, it's really touch and go here. the's no in, but the wind, it kicks up, and then it dies down. it kicks up and dies down. taking m certainly is its time getting here. mandatory evacuation in placement they canplace. they can't force peopl leave. 40% are hunkered down riding out the storm. curfew in place. they can enforce that, and they have been enforcing that. we've seenolice driving around, makingure people stay off the streets. there's a big danger. and, you know, it's calm rightn the winds aren't too bad. and people have been lulled into false sense o security here in myrtle beach, but don't be fooled. it's only a matter of time before the storm makes its way >> and you mentioned some people decided to stay.

how exactly are they staying safe? >> reporter: you know, we've spoken with actually quite a few people that are deciding to ride out the storm. and people boarded up their homes. they've gotten provisions. most of them, to last at least a week. food, water, batteries. some people, t generators,t type of thing. but you and i both know. i mean, these storms can go on for days if not weeks.ou andnow the danger really begins after the storm is over when peopleow will lose and people will flood and people will run out of water, and that's when things bece desperate. >> tammy, we're starting to see some images there of canopies coming down. looks like a gas station we're looking at s in ait screen here. the last time you were at gas station or convenience store or grocery store, what did the shelves look like? was there anything left? was it bare? >> reporter: it's been a couple of days.

they orderedf that all the stores shut down yesterday i believe in myre beach around 5:00 p.m. there were about three stores that were open at that point. and they did have water on the shelves in one of the stores. but, you know, all the gas stations had shut down. they've been shut down for pretty much two all the pumps were wrapped. there was no generators to be found anywhere. so if you didot have supplies, i would say, by yesterday, you were going to be hard-pressed to find them. >> so that's it. once they have made their decision, they're 00 kerrihunken and hoping for the best. as tammy mentioned and can you ,e behind h it's not too bad right now. ily moment they're going to get hit and there be sustained winds that will be very difficult. thank you. just ahead, the latest from the paul manafort trial as he decideso deal or not to deal.

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breaking news story this morning. one perso is dead and a dozen hospitalized after a series of powerful natural gas explosions and fires rocked several communities outside boston.

18-year-old larnell rendon was inside a car when an explosion brought a chimney down killing him. a pressurized power line is to blame for the unprecedented explosion which septemb at leas0 buildings up in smoke, terrifying neighborhoods. it's unclearhen service will be back. in total, more than 8,000 people we evacuated. many forced to stay in shelters overnight. dangerous situation there as well. we have new developments in paul manafort's upcoming trial. abc news is reporting manafort and robert mueller's team met for several hours thursday to work out the details of a plea deal which they say will head f his upcoming trial according to sourc close to the negotiations. t's get the latest from nik wa

carbahol iington. >> reporter: there's a preliminary hearing that had been preliminarily set for this week. what we don'tnow is what this deal could include. we don't know if it means any cooperation between robert muelr and paul manafort and we don't know if it means a reduced sentence in paul manafort's first trial. he was convicted in a courtroom, this current trial related to failing to register as an agent. the president said it was very sad but that it doesn't involve him. rudy giuliani weighing in saying this doesn't have any effect on them. they're notut worried a it and

it won't affect theresident's decision whether or not to pardon paul manafort. this would be the fourth guilty plea in tal spe counsel's investigation. and robert mueller's going to be taking this investigaon to court. paul manafort will be there later today. >> all right, and we'll be watching. is hurricane florencours away from landfall but the massive storm's outer bands are already beginni to slam the coastline. the latest from the carolinas next on the special edition of "early today." watch me. ( ♪ ) mike: i've tried lots of things for my joint pain. now? watch me. ( ♪ ) joni: think i'd give up showing these guys how it's done? please. real people with active psoriatic arthritis are changing the way they fight it. they're moving forward with cosentyx.

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plus - get kohl's cash! this wkend - at kohl's. welcome back to "early today." we continue to trackre fe. the impacts will be far reaching and catastrophic in some instances. we are looking at high wind gusts. we are already seeing the winds pick up in many spots. we could see w peakd gusts more than 100 miles per hour, sure to cause damage to structures. the ground is very saturated with all the rain that has been falling. storm surge, i can say enough about this. this is our biggest worry, with 9-13 feet waves as we go throughout the day. we'll be right back. urself... and your sister-in-law's... tennis partner's...

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rain may be the mt damaging aspect of this monster storm. up to 20 inches or more may fall in some areas over the next few floodinging widespread and major damage. good morning, everyone. >> we he been talking about this storm all week and this morning we're startin to see just how powerful it really is. >> in just a moment we'll geto sheena with a check on your commute but let's begin with chuck bell tracking the latest on the path and intensity. >> good morning. good mornin everybody. friday finally here. and we are watching s aaping of the north carolina coastline by hurricane florence here. the center of the circulation is about to reach the coastline near cape fear and it's going to be quite a punch for southeastern north carolina. the storm surge