Updated: 5:30 p.m. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper called the deaths of three people in Florence devastating and continued to warn the state’s residents to be vigilant with heavy rainfall expected in the days ahead. “This loss of life is devastating,” Cooper said in a press briefing Friday evening. “It’s devastating to the families and the friends of these victims. The fact is this storm is deadly and we know that we’re days away from…

Updated: 4:55 p.m. Florence has been downgraded to a tropical depression with a maximum sustained wind speeds of 70 miles per hour. In its latest advisory, the National Hurricane Center has also discontinued the storm surge watch south of Myrtle Beach, S.C., and north of Salvo, N.C., including Albemarle Sound. Updated: 4 p.m. Four people have died and hundreds of thousands are without power in North Carolina as Hurricane Florence has brought dangerous flooding and…

Updated: 3:40 p.m. A mother and her infant died in Wilmington after a tree fell on their home, according to the Wilmington Police Department, and one other person died while plugging in a generator in Lenoir County, according to the governor’s office. These are the first reported fatalities caused by Florence. Separately, a woman died after suffering a heart attack in Hampstead, N.C., according to a report from WUNC. First responders were unable to reach…

Updated: 3:15 p.m. A mother and her infant died in Wilmington after a tree fell on their home, according to the Wilmington Police Department, and one other person died while plugging in a generator in Lenoir County, according to the governor’s office. These are the first reported fatalities caused by Florence. Also, in a press briefing officials in South Carolina said there are 66,924 power outages in the state as of 2 p.m. Water rescues…

Updated at 1:20 p.m. More than 600,000 power outages are reported across North Carolina as Florence slowly moves west toward the North Carolina and South Carolina border. The North Carolina Department of Public Safety reports 604,375 power outages across the state at 1 p.m. Florence, now a Category 1 hurricane, has 75 miles per hour sustained winds and is moving at 6 miles per hour. The breadth of the hurricane’s reach — with hurricane-force winds…

Updated at 11:25 a.m. Almost half a million people in North Carolina are without power as Hurricane Florence slowly makes its way across the state, bringing flooding and dangerous high winds with it inland. Gov. Roy Cooper, who spoke at a briefing on Florence this morning, continued to warn residents that the threat of Florence will linger. “The sun rose this morning on an extremely dangerous situation and it’s getting worse,” Cooper said. “The storm…

Updated at 9:15 a.m. Governor Roy Cooper calls Hurricane Florence an uninvited brute that doesn’t want to leave. In an appearance on NPR’s Morning Edition, the governor said more than 100 people have been rescued in New Bern, N.C., and crews had to rescue people from a hotel in Jacksonville. He estimates almost 20,000 people are in more than 150 shelters around the state. Ocean surge and torrential rainfall are causing flooding in coastal areas….

Updated at 8 a.m. Hurricane Florence made landfall near Wrightsville Beach in North Carolina at 7:15 a.m., according to the National Hurricane Center. Florence, which has been downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane with sustained wind speeds of 90 miles per hour, has already caused significant flooding on the Outer Banks and the eastern part of the state. The North Carolina Department of Transportation warns residents to avoid driving through these areas as conditions are…

Updated at 6:30 a.m. There are more than 321,000 power outages statewide this morning as the eye of Hurricane Florence nears landfall in Wilmington, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety and the National Hurricane Center.  At 6 a.m.,  the National Hurricane Center reported the eyewall of Florence reached the Atlantic coast and that the eye of the storm will reach the state soon.  The NC Department of Public Safety reported 321,692 power…

[  ] Hide Caption [  ] Show Caption Michael Nelson floats in a boat made from a metal tub and fishing floats after the Neuse River went over its banks and flooded his street during Hurricane Florence September 13, 2018 in New Bern. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)  [  ] Hide Caption [  ] Show Caption Men pack their belongings after evacuating their house after the Neuse River went over its banks and flooded their street during Hurricane Florence…