Preparing For The Storm & Dealing With The Aftermath
Behind the Scenes at WECT (Source: WECT) WECT’s Bill Murray has a behind the scenes look at our news and production crews prepping for storm coverage. Many team members leaving family behind to provide the information you need to know to stay safe. We’re sheltering in place in the WECT studios. If you have Facetime or Skype and would like to contact us: to share your stories and how you’re doing: please contact our newsroom. We’d love to…
Read More
9/13/18– Hurricane Florence has weakened a bit while still barreling toward the Carolinas. Experts say don’t let your guard down—this storm is very dangerous and could be life-threatening. High winds, waves up to 13 feet and up to 20 inches of rain—all still strong possibilities for the Wilmington area. Structure damage, road closures, power outages and flooding all expected in the wake of Hurricane Florence.
Read More
Live video from WECT News is available on your computer, tablet and smartphone during all local newscasts. When WECT News is not airing a live newscast, you will see replays of the most recent newscasts. Internet Explorer users please note compatibility mode may disable display of the live player, disable compatibility mode if you do not see player.
Read More
By Jake Seaton, WRAL.com digital product manager If you are evacuating your home to escape Hurricane Florence, or perhaps a loved one or friend from the eastern part of North Carolina is hoping to get out its path, you may be concerned about what to do about your fur family. Our pets are as much a part of our families as the humans who share our walls, so it’s understandable that you want to keep…
Read More
Hurricane Florence’s heavy winds and rain have prompted a first round of tornado watches along coastal North Carolina. The watch is in effect until 9 p.m. Thursday. The threat is predicted to increase through Thursday and Friday, as the center of Florence moves closer to shore, said the National Hurricane Center. As of Thursday morning, winds in 40 to 73 mph range were extending 195 miles out from the center of the 300-mile-wide storm, said…
Read More
As Hurricane Florence hurtles into the Carolinas and residents gear up for what’s now a Category 1 storm, our reporters and photojournalists are on the coast and around the region. Their Wednesday reports from the coast are here. You can follow them on Twitter at https://twitter.com/newsobserver/lists/hurricane-mcclatchy New Bern, NC: Rescues from floodwaters 2:43 a.m. Friday: Despite a mandatory evacuation ordered Tuesday, Craven County emergency crews reported rescuing multiple residents from Hurricane Florence floodwaters through the…
Read More
As Hurricane Florence hurtles into the Carolinas and residents gear up for what’s now a Category 1 storm, our reporters and photojournalists are on the coast and around the region. Their Wednesday reports from the coast are here. You can follow them on Twitter at https://twitter.com/newsobserver/lists/hurricane-mcclatchy NC: More than 181,000 without power 11:59 p.m.: Hurricane Florence wasn’t expected to make landfall until Friday morning, but residents in coastal areas were already losing power as fierce…
Read MoreSoutheast Texas’ coastal counties are under a flash flood watch on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. Southeast Texas’ coastal counties are under a flash flood watch on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2018. Photo: National Weather Service Houston/Galveston Worst Houston high water spots for road flooding You don’t get to live in a place called the Bayou City and not get a little road flooding from time to time (or to be more specific, EVERY TIME IT RAINS!).These…
Read More
Storm expected to stall over Wilmington region with ‘life-threatening’ wind, rain, storm surges and floods 11 p.m. update: Florence weakens slightly Beleaguered residents of Southeastern North Carolina received a sliver of good news late Wednesday; Hurricane Florence has weakened to a Category 2 storm. “Little change in strength is expected before the center reaches the coast, with weakening expected after the center moves inland,” stated the 11 p.m. National Hurricane Center advisory. But forecasters warned…
Read More
New Hanover County jail preps for Florence (Source: WECT) WILMINGTON, NC (WECT) – District Attorney Ben David and Judge J Corpening were holding court Wednesday afternoon trying to make more space at the county’s jail. They did so by allowing inmates with low-level misdemeanors to be released on their own recognizance. Other inmates were transported to other detention facilities. “There is a vacancy sign on our jail,” said David. “We have room for people who…
Read More
North Carolina legislators voted in 2012 to ban the use of a report that showed the ocean could rise as much as 39 inches by 2100. Now, with Hurricane Florence bearing down on the Carolinas, and thousands evacuating from the coast, that decision is once again making national headlines and drawing criticism from those who say state leaders who approved the bill were nearsighted. Some are saying the 2012 law could mean more damage from…
Read More
The main terminal at ABIA was busy Wednesday morning. Among those at the luggage carousel, Tom and Donna Moffitt. They arrived in Austin after catching one of the last flights out of Raleigh/Durham. “When we go there it was just jammed with people, everyone was trying to get out,” said Tom Moffitt. The Moffatts’ are from Wilmington, North Carolina which may take a direct hit by Hurricane Florence. The trip to Texas, for the Moffatts’, was…
Read More
By Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol Bureau chief Knightdale, N.C. — A shelter set up at Knightdale High School for people fleeing their homes in Dare and Carteret counties ahead of Hurricane Florence was already at capacity by Wednesday afternoon, officials said. Officials could expand the shelter beyond its 450-person limit, if needed later, but they were sending evacuees to other area shelters, such as at Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School or Garner High School. Novan…
Read More
Raleigh, N.C. — As mandatory evacuations are in place for Beaufort, Dare, Pamlico and Tyrrell county beaches (Atlantic, Indian, Emerald Isle, Pine Knoll Shores, Ocracoke, Carolina, Kure, Wrightsville, Topsail, Currituck Outer Banks, Oak Island and Holden), most people are heeding the warning and getting out in advance of Hurricane Florence. During a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Roy Cooper said there are 750,000 to 1 million people under evacuation orders. “If you aren’t under…
Read More