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Trump To Visit North Carolina To Survey Florence Impact
President Donald Trump will travel to North Carolina on Wednesday to survey the impact of Hurricane Florence.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders on Tuesday confirmed Trump's travel plans to North Carolina, which bore the brunt of the powerful storm.
Days after the hurricane rolled through, the region is dealing with massive flooding. In Wilmington, residents lined up by the hundreds for free food, water and tarps while officials opened up to the public two routes that had previously been impassable.
Florence is being blamed for at least 34 deaths in three states.
Hurricane Rating System Fails To Account For Deadly Rain
Meteorologists and disaster experts say the nearly 50-year-old hurricane rating system fails to convey the full danger of storms because it only measures wind speed, not rainfall or storm surge.
Some people decided to stay put when they learned Hurricane Florence was downgraded to a Category 1 storm before it hit last week. But experts say the storm was at least as dangerous. The risk of flooding hadn't decreased at all, and water accounts for 90 percent of storm deaths.
Several meteorologists and disaster experts said that needs to change.
2 Dead After Van Is Swept Away In S. Carolina
Authorities confirm two detainees drowned when a van was swept away in rising flood waters in South Carolina.
Horry County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Brooke Holden says a sheriff's office van was carrying two detainees and two deputies from Conway to Darlington on Tuesday night when it was overtaken by flood waters. Officials say the van was traveling near the Little Pee Dee River, one of the bodies of water officials in South Carolina are watching closely as water continues to pour into the state from upriver in North Carolina following the heavy rains of Florence.
Marion County Coroner Jerry Richardson confirmed to AP earlier Tuesday that two women died in the incident.
Holden says the deputies tried to get the detainees out but couldn't open the doors. High-water rescue teams plucked the deputies from the top of the van.
Michael Jordan Donates $2M For Hurricane Relief In NC
NBA legend Michael Jordan, who played high school basketball in Wilmington, North Carolina —one of the areas devastated by Hurricane Florence— is donating $2 million to assist residents of the Carolinas.
The 55-year-old owner of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets is contributing $1 million each to the American Red Cross and the Foundation For The Carolinas' Hurricane Florence Response Fund.
In addition, more than 100 members of the Hornets organization will help pack disaster food boxes Friday at Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Dollar Tree To Consolidate Support Centers
Dollar Tree says it's planning to consolidate store support centers in a North Carolina town and a Virginia city as part of its continuing integration of Family Dollar's organization and support functions.
Dollar Tree said Tuesday that it is planning to consolidate store support centers in Mathews, North Carolina and Chesapeake, Virginia. Dollar Tree bought Family Dollar in 2015.
Dollar Tree said it is closing the Matthews headquarters after the consolidation, but the distribution center in the town will remain open to serve Family Dollar stores. About 700 employees have been given offers to relocate. Dollar Tree says it'll provide job transition benefits and outplacement services to the affected workers.
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