The storm had strengthened to Category 3 late Wednesday night, and by Thursday morning it was about 70 miles from Charleston, South Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center. Its hurricane-force winds were extending as far as 60 miles from the center, with tropical-storm-force winds extending up to 195 miles.
Forecasters said storm surge waters could flood up to 8 feet in some areas. Streets in Charleston were already flooding on Thursday with rising seas and rainfall expected to inundate parts of the city.
Though the storm’s eye has remained offshore on its move up the East Coast, the National Hurricane Center’s models show it could possibly make landfall on the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Friday.
On Thursday, Dorian’s rain bands were whipping cities from Savannah, Georgia, to Wilmington, North Carolina, and places along the coast could receive as much as 15 inches of rain before the storm departs. Approximately 360,000 South Carolinians have been evacuated from their homes. The storm has already knocked out power for about 200,000 customers in South Carolina, as well as 12,800 in Georgia.
The wind began howling and groaning in Charleston around 2 a.m., bending trees to its will, downing power lines and toppling trees.
Local TV forecasters were warning that the worst of the storm would be felt in Charleston through at least noon, and urged people to remain in their homes. Charleston County government officials ordered residents to stay off high-span bridges, given sustained winds of more than 30 mph. City government posted a running online tally of flooded and impassible streets.
“Remember, TURN AROUND, DON’T DROWN,” the Charleston Police tweeted.
Charleston has accrued deep hurricane experience in recent years, as well as deep scars — particularly from Hurricane Hugo, which hit the city hard in September 1989. At the time, computer storm tracking was not as sophisticated as it is today and social media did not exist. Many residents were caught unprepared as the storm toppled buildings or blew them away.
Hurricane Hugo killed 35 people in South Carolina, and damaged or destroyed more than 21,000 homes statewide. According to author Brian Hicks, it also marked a turning point in Charleston history. With many older, less steady buildings damaged beyond repair, Joe Riley, the mayor at the time, saw an opportunity with so many patches of blank canvas to fill in and helped revitalize the city.
At least two tornadoes had touched down in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, said Pat Dowling, the city’s public information officer.
One of the tornadoes was “pretty sizable,” he said, and though it damaged a couple of condominium buildings and a mobile home park near the intercoastal waterway, there were no injuries and everybody was safe.
The outer bands of Hurricane Dorian were also reaching north to Wilmington, North Carolina, slamming the area with heavy rain and winds — and causing at least one tornado.
Dorian’s center was far away, but its tropical-storm-force winds extended nearly 200 miles from its center, and its effects could be felt in Wilmington, a port city of about 122,000 on North Carolina’s southeastern coast. The National Weather Service’s local office warned that even if the eye avoids landfall, the city would experience winds equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane.
Thursday would be a day of “high risk for flash flooding in southeastern North Carolina, and we know too well that floodwaters can be deadly,” Gov. Roy Cooper said Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Cooper announced that an 85-year-old man in Columbus County had died after falling off a ladder while preparing for the storm.
Wilmington is under a storm surge warning through Sunday morning, and forecasters said water could rise between 4 and 7 feet in some areas. Many of the neighborhoods along Cape Fear River, which flows through the city toward Fayetteville, were expected to flood.
Officials in New Hanover County, which includes Wilmington, said a shelter at an elementary school had filled up but that two others still had room.
Wilmington is no stranger to hurricanes. Hurricane Florence dumped rain on the city and swelled its rivers in 2018, essentially cutting it off from the rest of the state. Residents lost electricity for several days.
And residents still recall the devastation from Hurricane Matthew in 2016, which turned streets into rivers and took many residents by surprise.
This article originally appeared in
.