I live in North Carolina. I’m inland but we are expecting 8 to 10 inches of rain and winds at 35 miles per hour. By the time Florence is done we are looking at a majority of the state being trashed. The storm is so big that the International Space Station had to use their widest lens just to get the whole of Florence into a picture. We start flooding at 2 to 3 inches of rain. Quite simply I am scared. I live on the bottom floor by necessity as I am a 24/7 caregiver to my younger brother who is in a wheelchair and has only one leg. He is currently in the hospital after having a seizure. There are no elevators just stairs. I’m spending the rest of the day cooking to make sure that we don't have raw meat that can spoil.
There are good and bad in North Carolina. Because of severe gerrymandering we are stuck with the world's stupidest legislature. It is not what the majority of North Carolinians want. Let me make some things clear about North Carolina where I live. I am a Progressive. There are many, many like me here. Our Governor and Attorney General are Democrats. The Mayor of Forsyth County’s largest city Winston Salem where I live has been serving since 2003 and is a Democrat. We have many Democratic Mayors in our State. We voted for Obama when he first ran and almost got enough votes in the Midterm. Bernie Sanders had thousands of people at his rallies. Yes we have some red pockets but they are rapidly being overtaken by the blue. We are facing a catastrophic Hurricane. We don't need smart ass statements about oh they are Rednecks and can just pray away the storm.
Right now I am disappointed in some of my fellow Kossacks. We are facing a catastrophe and yet instead of being understanding I am reading posts that put the state down as being nothing but white rednecks who are not deserving of any help. For the record we have large populations of African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans. We are a state with a diverse population. All of us are scared. Instead of making out dated slams about North Carolina being nothing but rednecks maybe these Kossacks should be trying to figure out how to help us. While there are pockets of rednecks there are a majority who are not. All of us are scared. I need my fellow Kossacks to stop with the redneck slurs and start trying to figure out how to help all of us in North Carolina. We are all scared.
- Hurricane Florence has knocked out power to more than 100,000 homes and businesses statewide.
- Flooding has been reported on Outer Banks, in New Bern, and along the Cape Fear River.
- More than 12.5 inches of rain has fallen on Atlantic Beach.
- About 12,000 people are in 126 evacuation shelters, state officials said.