The Carolina coast has been feeling the brunt of Hurricane Florence for nearly 24 hours as the massive hurricane delivers high wind, heavy rain and devastating storm surge. As of 7 a.m. Friday, the National Hurricane Center reported the center of the eye was 10 miles east of Wilmington, North Carolina and was "about to make landfall" near Wrightsville Beach.
Florence remains a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 90 mph and is moving west-northwest at about 6 mph. The largest storm surge is expected between Cape Fear and Cape Hatteras including the Neuse and Pamlico Rivers. The threat of flooding along the coasts and inland continues into next week with high rainfall amounts projected.
The Pamlico Sound reported water levels seven feet above normal Friday morning.
At least 150 people were trapped by floodwaters in New Bern, N.C., Friday morning rain and storm surge from Hurricane Florence created increasingly dangerous conditions. That's in addition to another 100 rescues in the city already.
The City of New Bern tweeted out at 2:27 a.m. Friday that FEMA teams were on their way, and that the trapped residents needed to seek higher ground.
"Currently ~150 awaiting rescue in New Bern. We have 2 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 second story, or to your attic, but WE ARE COMING TO GET YOU," the city tweeted.
Hurricane Florence has weakened to a Category 1 hurricane, but the threats of heavy rain and devastating flooding remain in place for many inland areas, including Charlotte.
Rainfall totals for the Charlotte area remain in the 7 -10 inch range over the next seven days. Some areas could see up to 15 inches of rain. In Charlotte, the worst of it will be Saturday night into Sunday.
"We're talking about significant rainfall in the Charlotte area. Maybe 11 to 30 inches along the coast, but in the Charlotte area, we're talking 7-11 inches, with more toward Rockingham," Panovich said.
With Hurricane Florence pummeling the coast, hundreds of thousands of people are without power in North Carolina.
North Carolina Emergency Management tweeted that statewide outages at 7 a.m. were at 321,692. The majority of those outages were in coastal areas in Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico and Pender Counties.
To find out the latest on power outages from the various power companies serving North Carolina you can check out the NC Emergency Management website.
With conditions across the Carolinas deteriorating rapidly, hundreds of flights in and out of Charlotte have been canceled. More than 200 flights were canceled as of 5:30 a.m. Friday, adding to the more than 800 that were nixed Thursday due to the storm.
Several airports were completely shut down by Florence, including Myrtle Beach, New Bern, Charleston, Fayetteville and Jacksonville, North Carolina.
Charlotte Douglas officials said they will begin irregular operations Friday, which means essential staff will work 12-hour shifts throughout the duration of the storm. Preparations began Thursday at the airport, with employees stocking and checking emergency supplies for passengers who may be stuck at the airport during the hurricane. Those supplies mostly include food and water for anyone waiting for their next best chance to leave town.