Delaware is now involved in aiding North Carolina in dealing with the effects of Hurricane Florence.
Prospects of heavy rain have been reduced in the Delaware Valley with the most recent map showing no direct moisture as of the weekend. Sussex County has seen high surf and beach erosion from the storm and other disturbances in the past couple of weeks.
Remnants of the hurricane could bring rain to the area next week.
Florence is now a Category 1 hurricane, with rain bands moving to the south and later making a turn inland. The National Hurricane Center says the storm is producing catastrophic flooding. (See update below).
Tropical Storm #Florence continues to cause catastrophic flooding in portions of North and South Carolina. pic.twitter.com/TapD87XJKB
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) September 15, 2018
As the hurricane approached and winds intensified, power outages were reported. Upwards of half a million people are said to be without power. The Red Cross reported 20,000 people are in shelters.
Florence is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 15 to 20 inches with up to 30 inches near Florence’s track over portions of North Carolina and
northern South Carolina through Saturday.
Comcast, which has operations along the Eastern Seaboard, has opened more than 233,000 Xfinity WiFi Hotspots in Charleston, S.C., Savannah and Augusta, GA., Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C., parts of Delaware and West Virginia, and greater Philadelphia and NJ for Hurricane Florence so customers, non-customers and emergency personnel can stay connected at no charge. A list of hotspots is available at Xfinity.com/wifi .
Dover Air Force base was assisting in the response to the hurricane with aircraft from the Alaska and New York Air Guard landing at the base with teams and equipment. (See video below).
Meanwhile, firefighters from Delaware fire companies traveled to North Carolina as part of the “Delaware Structural Firefighting Task Force”.
Firefighters from Christiana Fire Co., Newark’s Aetna, Hockessin Fire Company, and several other units from Kent and Sussex Counties will be operating for the next week in assisting firefighters in North Carolina.
