(Bloomberg) -- Hurricane Florence is slowing as it advances upon the U.S. Southeast, promising “disaster” for residents near the Carolina coast.
The storm, currently 470 miles (755 kilometers) east-southeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is forecast to approach the coast Friday, turn slightly south and then park over the shoreline for at least a day.
Florence could deliver a 13-foot ocean surge and dump as much as 30 inches of rain, potentially triggering “catastrophic flash flooding,” according to the National Hurricane Center. Officials are warning residents to prepare for the worst.
“My message is clear: disaster is at the doorstep,” North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said at a Wednesday briefing. “North Carolina is about to face the power of Hurricane Florence. The time to prepare is almost over.”
The storm’s path means the strongest side will rake the shore, threatening property from South Carolina to Virginia. Joel Myers, founder of AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania, has estimated the potential costs at $30 billion.
“The storm is going to stall,’’ said Jeff Masters, co-founder of Weather Underground in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “Maybe offshore, maybe onshore, but the coast of North and South Carolina is going to get hit with a large storm surge, extreme winds and heavy rains.’’
Disaster officials are expecting the storm to cause significant damage.
“This is not going to be a glancing blow,” Jeff Byard, associate director of FEMA’s office of response and recovery, said during a briefing Wednesday. “This is going to be a Mike Tyson punch to the Carolina coast.”
Other storm developments:
- Georgia Governor Nathan Deal issued emergency declarations for all 159 counties in his state as the path of the storm changed.
- President Donald Trump warned that the “storm is extremely dangerous” in a Tweet Wednesday, urging residents to comply with evacuation orders.
- Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) expects as many a 3 million customers to lose power in North Carolina, South Carolina
- Weakened to Category 3 hurricane, with 125 mile-per-hour winds. Expected to slow as it nears land but will remain a significant threat.
- Airlines have already canceled hundreds of flights as Florence looms
- Forecasters are also watching Hurricane Helene, which is expected to lose strength in the next few days, and Tropical Storm Isaac, which is passing through the Caribbean.
- With three named storms in the Atlantic, forecasters are watching two more potential systems that have high odds of becoming a tropical system, which would bring a record five storms, according to tweet from Phil Klotzbach, hurricane researcher at Colorado State University
(Updates with latest advisory throughout.)