Florence arriving, high winds, heavy rains, trees down, power out

9/14/18–Hurricane news brief

Hurricane Florence is on top of us—and its effects are being felt all over the Wilmington area.

High winds and heavy rains are wreaking havoc.

Statewide—more than 288,000 people are without power.

More than 40,000 of those outages are in New Hanover County.

Those numbers will only grow as the day goes on.

Efforts to restore power can’t begin until winds are below 35 miles per hours.

The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office is asking folks to stay off the roads.

Deputies say multiple trees and power lines are blocking roads throughout the county.

Its best to stay home until the threat passes.

In New Hanover County, more than 500 people took advantage of the 5 emergency shelters at local schools.

An additional 200 evacuees were bused to shelters in Wake and Guilford counties.

The state is assisting the shelters with additional supplies to last the next several days