As Hurricane Florence makes landfall along the coast of North Carolina with winds raging at more than 90 miles per hour, shelters across that state and others are preparing for whatever damage comes next. On Friday, the storm surge knocked out the power for a half-million homes and businesses as it barreled into the East Coast. For thousands of people who didn’t have the means or opportunity to flee, shelters offer a welcome respite ― if they aren’t full. North Carolina has approximately 12,000 evacuees staying at 126 shelters across the state, CBS reports. One mega-shelter with the capacity to house 1,000 people was already 75 percent full by Thursday morning, according to the Citizen-Times.

Source: Huffington Post September 14, 2018 17:37 UTC