RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on Hurricane Florence (all times local):
5:10 p.m.
Forecasters have issued a hurricane warning for parts of the Carolinas as Hurricane Florence barrels toward land.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Tuesday that a warning had been issued from South Santee River, South Carolina, to Duck, North Carolina, and the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds.
A Tropical Storm Watch has been issued from north of the North Carolina-Virginia border to Cape Charles Light, Virginia, and for the Chesapeake Bay south of New Point Comfort.
As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, Florence was centered 785 miles (1,260 kms) southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina, moving west-northwest at 17 mph (28 kph).
It is a potentially catastrophic Category 4 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (220 kph). It is expected to keep drawing energy from the warm water and intensify to near Category 5, with winds of 157 mph (253 kph) or higher.
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4:40 p.m.
Forecasters at the University of Michigan predict that 2.4 million people will lose power from Hurricane Florence and some outages could be prolonged.
That’s about one-fourth the number who suffered outages from Hurricane Sandy, which hit a more populated area around New Jersey in 2012.
Seth Guikema is an associate professor of engineering at Michigan. He says outages could be more widespread if Florence veers north or stalls, leading to flooding.
The estimate is based on the National Hurricane Center’s forecast for Florence’s path and wind speeds.
Duke Energy spokeswoman Grace Rountree says the utility doesn’t forecast outages, but is “anticipating significant widespread outages from a storm of this magnitude.”
She says the company is bringing in up to 2,000 workers from Florida and the Midwest to augment its 4,600 workers in North Carolina and South Carolina.
Duke has 4 million customers in the Carolinas.
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4:40 p.m.
Officials are advising South Carolina residents to get their well water tested for bacteria after Hurricane Florence hits.
The Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service said in a news release Tuesday that if the wells are submerged in water even temporarily, the water won’t be usable to drink, cook or brush teeth with until it is tested and found suitable.
Clemson says the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control can test private drinking well water for bacterial contamination.
Gov. Henry McMaster has ordered residents along much of South Carolina’s coast to evacuate as the powerful storm approaches the Carolinas’ coastline.
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4:40 p.m.
North Carolina officials say they are suspending ferry service from one of the Outer Banks islands beginning Wednesday.
A news release from the Ferry Division of the North Carolina Department of Transportation said Tuesday that service from Ocracoke Island will end with a 9:30 a.m. run to Swan Quarter on the mainland.
Ocracoke is at the southern end of the state’s Outer Banks, and is accessible only by ferry.
Ferry officials say that as of Tuesday afternoon, they had transported 1,582 people evacuating the islands.
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4:40 p.m.
As the Carolinas brace for the impact of extremely dangerous Florence toward the end of the week, other states are sending resources.
Southern California firefighting teams specializing in urban-search and swift-water rescue, and a search-and-rescue team from Tennessee are being deployed to Virginia ahead of Florence’s arrival.
Louisiana is sending nearly 100 emergency personnel to the Carolinas. The Louisiana fire marshal’s office is sending a water-rescue team and an urban search-and-rescue team to South Carolina, along with other emergency workers.
More than three dozen members of a Nebraska search-and-rescue team left Tuesday morning for Raleigh, North Carolina. The deployed members include two K-9 search units.
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4:15 p.m.
Officials in West Virginia towns inundated by a series of thunderstorms two years ago are monitoring the track of Hurricane Florence.
National Weather Service guidance says the currently projected scenario from Florence “could result in catastrophic flooding rainfall” across the mountains of western North Carolina, western Virginia, and eastern West Virginia late this week.
The June 2016 storms pelted a wide swath of West Virginia. Nine inches (23 centimeters) of rain fell in 36 hours in some areas, leaving 23 dead statewide and destroying thousands of homes, businesses and infrastructure.
Fifteen people died in Greenbrier County alone in 2016. The communities of Rainelle and White Sulphur Springs saw significant property damage, including at the posh Greenbrier resort.
Rainelle Police Chief J.P. Stevens said people there are rightfully wary of Florence.