rising. become miles inland, you can still see the storm. >> it is disastrous. >> please do not let your guard down. this is a very dangerous storm. >> neil: bracing for impact. welcome, everybody. i'm neil cavuto. florence now barreling down and getting close. here is what we know right now. the department of defense is about to hold a news conference on preparation. when they speak it, we are there. the police chief in north carolina is asking residents refusing to evacuate for next of kin information, saying that he will not, not put his officers in harm's way. home depot and lowe's operating in emergency response centers. more than 1,000 trucks will be used to supply bottled water,

trash bags, and a lot more. before and after the storm. and close to 1500 flights have already been canceled in and out of the region, with likely a lot more to come in the days ahead. fox coverage right now. in carolina beach, north carolina, where the big worry is flooding. and here an even bigger worry, florence, taking her time leaving. >> those are my headlines, now. big storm, slow storm. we are in carolina beach. right behind here, and we are talking about storm surge. big storm because you are already seeing the effects of this in a lot of places. but here, we are still 16 hours away from the storm. here in carolina beach, and i will show you what the surf looks like. maybe going through the door there, and you come out here and see what this looks like. this will be protecting carolina beach. if it holds, the problem with a

slow storm, come on with me down to the beach. maybe you can see it. these waves, if they are crashing onto the berm for a day or two, it is one thing if they are crashing onto the berm for a day or two, that is one thing. a day or two is a very different story. that is an angry atlantic ocean, and beyond, that is hurricane florence in carolina beach. o'neill. >> neil: amazing. always my friend. i say that. in the meantime, 45 inches, that is what we are looking at. that is how much rain florence could drop in some areas. something that my buddy said. this thing won't be leaving anytime soon once it hits. it is slow-moving, and a monster at that. rick, what are we looking at? >> the center wins have come down a little bit. but all of the moisture that is in the storm that has built up

over the last week that the storm has been out there, that moisture doesn't come out. it is going to fall and hang out, there is so much moisture to be had. also, take a look at this. this is a digital satellite image. the center of the storm is what has kind of been struggling for about the last 24 hours now. it is so well formed all the way around the center of the storm, the outer side of the storm is not having any problem at all. still remains incredibly well organized. so no weakening, you can see that. we haven't seen it just yet. that said, it's really slowing its progression now if your next advisor that comes out, i think we will see instead of this, it will come down almost to nothing here. we will see tornado concerns. just keep that in mind. small tornadoes always been up with these systems making landfall, so be prepared for that. also, you should be prepared for

these power outages. too late to be getting prepared, but we are going to see that all away much in south carolina, but there will likely be a bull's-eye around myrtle beach up to morehead where we are going to be watching the worst of that. also watching the worst of the storm surge. going in the end, we are going to be watching for a very prolonged period of wind. so it comes in with the arrival of the storm, and that surface wind, keeps on pushing that water towards the land here doesn't allow the water to come back out for the storm surge to subside. we are probably watching these cycles of the storm surge of staying on shore, and not just rate among the immediate coast. all that water is going to get pushed out. the inland's and tributaries here, so we're going to have big problems, up and along the rive. and then the rainfall totals, it

is one of our models, now putting out numbers like 45 inches. where that happens, we can't tell you. we say 45 inches right there, that doesn't mean it is going to happen. wherever this lines up, we will probably be seeing some spots. some spots also crossing the interior sections, maybe upward towards the foot of rain. that has got to flow down very quickly. we could be looking at extreme flash flooding across the interior sections, and then flooding all along the coastal areas. by the way, these numbers could be farther toward the south. so looking at these numbers, 1 inch here, don't pay attention to these numbers. they will probably be likely over a foot well. >> neil: it is amazing how far inland to deep waters go. >> and it can go anywhere. gravity wants to pull it out to the ocean, but all of that ocean water is pushed up into the shore, so it doesn't have anywhere to go.

that is why the freshwater that is falling from the storm is going to meet that seawater that is pushed in, and it will get stuck there, and the flooding will be extreme. >> neil: thank you very, very much. it hasn't even hit, and already, the red cross has 700 disaster relief workers sent out throughout the region. it tens of thousands of folks expected to be displaced by all of this. the ceo of the eastern region of the red cross. thank you for taking the time. what is it looking like for you guys? >> well, we are preparing. people will say what is the red cross doing? it is really who is the red cross? these tremendous volunteers that we just mention peered across the region, manning shelters, providing supplies, supporting evacuees. and after the storm eventually passes, we have the long term recovery that will be very, very challenging for this part of the country.

>> neil: now, what percentage of these people are going to shelters? high school gyms, cafeterias, that sort of thing. >> absolutely, those are evacuation centers. we have had thousands of people and will expect more this evening. taking more heed to the warning, but this has been a really good response by the public. really paying attention. i appreciate the made a really pushing the message of get out now and to be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem. >> neil: so many times, they don't go out, they feel that they can write it through, or if they leave, it will be a long time before they can go back home, i understand where they're coming from, but what you tell them? >> we know that there's going to be infrastructure damage. power outages, and folks may not be able to go back to their homes because they will be destroyed. we want to remind them that possessions, things can be replaced, but your life cannot. so that is why we are very proud

of the messaging that has gone on here to get people to pay attention and really take some actions to get out of harm's way. >> neil: you know, a little later, we are going to be talking to a representative, one of the bigger power providers in the region. we expect more than 75% of their customers to likely be without power when all is said and done, and maybe for a while. how do you deal with that? >> that is going to be a challenge. we are going to be supporting folks with our partners who can actually come in and create thousands of males through mobile kitchens that are part of a semi tractor trailer activities on parking lots of churches. we are seeing tremendous work by the salvation army, they will mobilize mass feeding. that was two years ago in the middle of matthew, we served over 6 million meals. we will be ranking up, but it's all because of those wonderful volunteers who are pouring into help us provide this care.

>> neil: a lot of people appreciated. the regional ceo for eastern north carolina. you might recall the cajun army. remember those guys? they were famous. for their simple rescues of folks caught one after another, particularly in texas last year. they are back at, suited up, ready to do battle on behalf of those who might get stuck with this storm. joining is now on the phone from south carolina. very good to have you. how are you holding up, and what are you seeing? >> to go well, we are holding up well. we have been here since the first wave. up to louisiana, our chapter, we have been over here since last friday. getting everything set up. our teams coming in, so we are pretty grounded right now. just about ready to get to the places where we can deploy quickly. >> neil: last year, with harvey in texas, the houston area, that was the first time i

had really heard of you guys. i'm sure it predates even that, but it was just a volunteer army, trying to help people out, putting their own lives on the land, and here you are doing it again. scary times, scary stuff, but you do it in pretty big numbers. how many do you think you will have? >> all, the thing we do, when we are in our state, we gather up our local chapters, and we'll get together. in texas, we went over, and we brought our local guys. work together. people are volunteering. we had an overwhelming amount of volunteers last year. in the midst of the chaos, we all came together. so it's really hard to determine how many volunteers there are. right now, we are here. we have over 600 on standby with the jeep club. we have different people coming in. everyone is showing up.

the fire department is coming down. so we just have all of our different types of vehicles that we need to go in. hummers, four wheelers, both, drones. we all have our safety equipment that we have acquired over the past year. just trying to do a little bit better, figure out what we could have done better. so that is where we are at right now. we are in a place where we are ready. volunteers are here. we have a volunteer list, everyone volunteers, they fill out a little submission form, we get it, vetted, tell them where we are at. and then we get everyone set up, and we go out. >> neil: that's just amazing. not a single one paying for this, they just do it out of the goodness of their heart at great personal risk it to themselves.

thank you. let's go to this pentagon briefing on how they are manning and preparing for this in washington. >> literally following the storm and, as it progresses, they are dependent on the weather conditions to clear to be able to come in. that is why we are not singularly responsible, looking at them, surrounded by the land as well. so we can do it before the storm gets here. the aircraft that we have coming from the south, from the west, and from the north. we will be able to access it. >> so secondly, what do you see as the biggest challenge as you look at sort of the scope of the storm, and specifically, one of the issues that has, in previous storms and other disasters is this waiting for states to ask for something that the military knows they should be asking for, they are not asking for?

or asking for quickly enough. how are you addressing what has been sort of a perpetual proble problem? >> first, i will say that we are anticipating the needs, moving forward under our own authority to be able to respond as soon as the request is made so that we know longer have to generate a force once it is made. it is immediately available. as we look into this storm, looking at what he thinks the biggest challenges are going to be, in the immediate aftermath of the storm's landing, the vertical lift, the ability to bring in those helicopters is going to be a key asset. again, in close coordination. >> so search and rescue was going to be the biggest challenge, is that particularly along the water's edge? >> as we see the storm coming in, even though it is degraded to cat 2, it is going to be on the coast, and the heavy rainfall, we do think that the

combination of that you gather will be very difficult challenge to overcome. so the search and rescue is probably the first and foremost response that we would be looking at. but it is not the only response that we are looking at. it will be incredibly important to have those assets available, not on a generation in 24 hours, but immediately available. that is why under the secretary's authority, we were able to have those available for immediate response. >> military times. >> thank you. between all of the air, land, and see assets that you have, how are you involved in this response? >> good question. at this moment, it is a rapidly changing number, but we have about 7,000 personnel. at just over 4,000 in the national guard, about 3,000 active duty. that number will change and fluctuate drastically over the upcoming hours, and we will be able to keep you informed as

that number changes. >> where does the money come from for this response? is there a specific emergency response bucket that you are pulling from? >> so, the stafford act is legislation that provides the department of homeland security with disaster relief funds. so federal support, federal mission supporting state and local and emergency like this, it is paid via the stafford act. >> looking at this tremendous response, you can't help but think of puerto rico last year, where it took days for ships to start to get in. realizing part of the was the knowledge of having to ask for it. what sort of lessons have been learned as far as being able to respond and help american citizens? >> so we did a detailed lessons learned process, as we do post any significant event in the department of defense.

what we got out of that assessment is we have processes in place to develop a common operational picture that we share with all of the entities and with our federal partners. we have a common asking picture, which is the request that we are getting or that we believe we will be getting from other partners. then we have a common picture. so we understand what assets from one identity within the department are being sent to support the response to the storm. we've had that in place, we've made some significant improvements to that, just based on those three storms that were overlapping, literally, creating a level of intensity and a depletion of resources that really was unprecedented. >> i would just say that the close collaboration that we have established between fema, between the governors, as long as we populate those databases, we fully understand the needs

even before the formal processing has been completed. i think that the relationship we have right now is as strong as it has ever been between the federal forces, the local state forces, and of course, fema. >> louis martinez, abc. >> hi. i believe during hurricane irma, which was in florida, later on, the state assets could handle it. as we look at the storm, do you foresee that they will be able to handle it immediately after the storm? may not even require that? >> i will say that all of the local and national guard is well postured to respond in the search and rescue. the magnitude of the storm may exceed their capability, and if it does, we want to make sure that we are postured and ready to respond at a moment's notice to that. so if we end up with not needing

them because the storm does not have the impact that we think it might, , and with the local responders, the national guard under the government's authority can handle it, then that is just fine. we have met our mission. >> hurricane maria in puerto rico, obviously the electrical grid was impacted in a huge way. there have already been protections to my predictions. what kind of a role can the army engineers play? what can you do to help them? >> just as you mentioned, it will be very deep in that regard, but what we are trying to do a synchronize that effort. we work closely with the engineers, with fema, with the local authorities, so that we can anticipate those in the staging areas that we have right now, full of the generators that you mention. so we can be able to respond and push this forward.

so it is a close collaboration. it is bringing all of the elements together against this challenge. >> i would just know that one of the benefits that you get from a disaster on the mainland, when you have multiple continuous states, there is a tremendous amount of proximity that states will provide in their emergency management assistance compact's. there are electrical repair vehicles heading towards the south east coast from all over the country as we speak. amassing on the outskirts of where the hurricane will have the most impact, ready to go in. if that is not sufficient to meet the needs, then the states will make a request of fema, and they will be there with assets as requested by them to meet the needs. >> thank you. do you have an idea of how many

people from the coastal area? >> i heard the figure of over a million today, but that was probably as of earlier today, we don't have the statistics. >> i would direct you to fema for the direct answer. >> tom, talk medianews. >> i was scratching my head. >> okay. lucas tomlinson, fox news. >> what specifically are you doing differently this year compared to last year? with the hurricane. >> i think as was mentioned, we took the lessons learned from last year, although it was phenomenal, robust response, we can always learn from that. so i think the anticipation, the coordination ahead of time, the collaboration, really understanding what are those requests going to be, and a way to reposition our forces to set

us up for success for florence. >> nothing specifically that you are doing different? >> there are multiple things in regards to how we are quantifying and how we are processing it. we can go a little quicker, but it is not one thing, it is a multiple things that we are doing in order to have actual response and action. i think it will set us up for success. >> carla, "voice of america." >> to questions, if that's okay. first, we learned about some of the ships that have come out. what other equipment has been moved out of the area, and about how much haslett cost to move that equipment out for the military, and then my second question is on the search and rescue timeline, every time that there is a hurricane, especially in the carolinas, there are people on the outer banks who do

not like to leave because there is only one road, and they feel like if they say, they don't have to worry about taking days to get back. can you tell us how long you anticipate it will take to get to people if they get into a dire situation? >> yet, first let me start by saying all of the individuals and citizens should listen to the local government, follow the appropriate guys that they were giving with respect to evacuations. this particular storm i think is going to be challenging in regard to what you mention. because of the slow-moving nature of the storm, it could very well stay with high winds for a long period of time, which is going to mean that any rescue effort is going to take time. and so, we still have the limitations that we have within those weather environments that are going to preclude us from necessarily coming in in the hours immediately after the storm hits. so again, i would really highlight the need, based on the nature of this particular storm to really heed the evacuation

recommendations. with respect -- i think it is weather dependent, so that is out of our control. what i can tell you is as soon as the weather allows us, we will be able to respond quickly. with respect to the movements of the force, force, we have to preserve the force, so it is prudent for us to do so. i don't have an exact cost of what that is, but we can give you a follow-up answer on that. obviously, it is prudent for us to move it, as opposed to have it damaged by the storm. >> tom bowman, npr. >> they are going to be right in the middle of the storm surge. so with the rescue effort, are they going to have to find their own way out if things get really bad, and any sense of getting the comfort underway? just holding on with that if necessary? >> we have confidence in our

commanders, making the evacuation. and so, we have faith that that is in fact the right decision to make. on the positive side, because of their proximity and their great capability, that will also be part of the relief effort that we can bring in very quickly. helping in the effort as well. we are fully coordinated with them. we understand the capability capacity that they have. we are working with them to find that they will be part of that response. >> i just have enough for that. all insulation commanders have what we call immediate response authorities. so if there are life-threatening circumstances in the community that they are in, they have pre-authorization to provide direct support to that. a number of these installations also have mutual agreements with state and local authorities. so that just -- they have done

some preplanning about the types of capabilities that they can provide. again, in circumstances where there are threats to life. >> take this opportunity to highlight the first responders and the amazing work that they have done and will continue to do in this effort. and of course, we want to follow up and be supportive of them. specific to your question, we have been in close coordination with fema as well as the governors and the local state authorities, and at this point, we just don't think that capability is needed at this time, based on the robust medical support that we have here. >> if you would identify your force, please. >> tom took my question, but i will follow up on it. you've got a situation where the instructions of the civilians, the authorities, and the military authorities is in direct contradiction, and there

is a lot of angst coming out of that. i mean, in general, is that decision made by the base commander in collaboration or coordination with north con, and is there concern about the mixed messages, where civilian authorities are saying to get out, and the military saying tuesday? >> i would say first, this decision was made at the installation level, and we support the decision of our local installation commanders. >> jeff, "task and purpose." >> thank you. how many marines are aboard the arlington? >> i can get the specific numbers, but it is an equivalent on board. so this is a robust capability and capacity. they have not only the vertical lift, but the capacity to bring on board. so if this is robust capability and capacity that will come to

bear as required. coming in with the storm. >> are all of the rescue units, are they all special operations? >> they are not all special operations. they have all contributed to the rescue operations that are available. >> sir, please state your name and outlet. >> general, you mentioned the para rescuers standing by. are they being deployed at any other locations? what other forces do you have standing by outside of the immediate area? >> one of the things that i would talk to you, what we call our second echelon forces. so what we are looking at, we have the immediate response that we know that we need, but we want to balance that with not putting people at risk. we have also put people in what we call ptd order.

prepare to deploy. we have them all over the nation, ready to respond with the full capacity of the department of defense. this is a bit of a microcosm of that, in the sense that we are bringing them forward. in this case, these are guard forces that have been brought forward under the agreement between the states to bring that capability forward. we know that we have great rescue capabilities. >> they will be moving forward. >> cnn. >> you talked a little bit about preserving the forest, living certain assets out of the area. do you have a kind of overall number of the personnel that has been relocated? >> we do. we can get that number for you, but it will be a moving target in the sense that there are some

who have moved out earlier, and we will be bringing them back. but we can continually update you on the movement of that number that will be over time continuing to change. >> courtney, nbc. >> how many people are on that right now? do you know? >> it is thousands of people in units across the entire department of defense. it is across all services, so the army, navy, marines. they are all contribute into that force. all of the individual units have been forced in the sense that they know that they are on pt dio. they are prepared to respond. >> once the storm hits, what do you think is going to be the first to respond? are we talking about helicopters and things? they are coming in behind it. are we talking the land -- land

vehicles driving up? >> i think it is going to be both helicopters and land vehicles coming from the south end of the west, depending on how the storm tracks. they will be able to be getting in because of the weather conditions. we will have to watch the changing weather conditions to see. >> so the guy from down at fort stewart, they will probably be among the first. >> these are not static. the forces that we have, those who have the capability to operate within the high water, we are looking to see where is the best position to push them forward? we want them absolutely as close as we can get. we don't want to lose them before we actually have an opportunity. >> in your opening statement, you mentioned that the secretary had preapproved some assets. what does that mean? does that mean that they can move forward without the

governor's request? >> i would pick any of the installations. the commander there has relationships with the first responders and surrounding community. they also have capacity within the installation, whether it be the ability to responded to an event, that commander has the ability to use that force, the force that they physically have on that installation to support the local community effort therefore the life-saving types of events. >> in addition to the outcome of the secretary of defense, number of movements, title x u.s. forces, providing relief operations, requires his authorization. so he pre-authorized so there would be no delay in responding to requests when you receive it. he pre-authorized the authority for those forces to be provided. typically through fema. >> is that standard, or as i know? >> that is standard. >> neil: all right, this has

actually been quite interesting. we forget in the middle of all of this, the threat from mother nature, what it does to our military operations in and around the carolinas. all of the facilities that we have there, the ships that have been evacuated, summaries, aircraft, from some of the largest installations. most have been repositioned and taken out far out to sea. others have been sort of locked out. facilities out of harm's way, we are told. but it is a reminder that they are looking at not only at the storm, but what you do after the storm. and we are learning as well that they are preparing to have a number in and around the area to support their families but also those who have been moved because of the storm itself. jennifer griffin at the pentagon with the latest. you just get a sense, jennifer, just the domino affect something

like this house, including on a national security. >> absolutely. they were describing 21 bases that will be affected by the storm. we just heard from the assistant secretary of defense from homeland defense and the head of northern command, and they outline these hurricane props. they will oversee all military systems, including active-duty and national guard involvement in prepping for the storm before it makes landfall. they outline what assets they have preposition. the pentagon has already moved 30 warships out to see to protect them from the surging waters and high winds. the national guard has activated roughly 3,000 troops from the carolinas and virginia. they are to go largest ships are ready to assist with search and rescue as needed. did two months of hurricane relief off the month of puerto rico last year.

the u.s. military has authorized, as we heard, several military bases in the area, including fort bragg, home to the 82nd airborne, and for joint special operations command, serving as a staging area. the logistics agency has mobile distribution centers, and it is prepared to provide and to distribute more than 281,000 gallons of fuel. they have also prestaged at 60 generators and transformers. our prepared it to provide bottled water in coordination with fema. the u.s. army corps of engineers of course will be on standby and monitoring and managing. and as we heard, the marines were ordered earlier this week to stay in place and be ready to help. >> just amazing. thank you very much. we are also getting word that the u.s. army corps of engineers, is managing dams.

you have to monitor the run off with these heavy rains. it is going to be something quite important. it is an understatement. in atlanta, the latest on the watch we seen there. >> hi, neil. we are seeing exactly what you would think you'd see in in a hurricane. that sandblaster effect on the beach between the winds, the rain. we're starting to see the damage of hurricane florence. the first bits of damage. of roof shingles being thrown off. forgive me for running round and surveying things. what makes the storm so unusual is the way that the wind is coming in here, turning the barrier islands that would typically protect the coastline of the major cities, actually into a file now, so the wind is pushing this water into the channel that separates the barrier islands from the main coastline. we've got about 18-20000 power

outages as of now in north carolina. that number is going to grow, and that number now includes the number that we are out here. so suffice to say up and down the beach now, almost everybody is out of power here. wind gusts so far in the 75-80 mile-per-hour range. we are getting that to come through. sort of vary and intensity where the shingles start to fly off. the place is a ghost town. almost everyone has heated the evacuation orders. some haven't. we talked to the police chief earlier. they have already been out on a couple of rescues for people who tried to read the storm out. obviously, they decided very quickly that was a bad idea but still had to call for help. getting atlanta beaches finest to pull them out. >> neil: incredible. i guess people still do that

kind of thing. leland, thank you very, very much. let's get the read on those power outages. we are told it is about 17,000 in that particular area without power. it could run into the millions when all is said and done here. joining us now on the phone from north carolina. thank you for taking the time. you are one of the largest utility providers in the area. upwards of 3 million of them could be out of power when all is said and done. is that right? >> that's right, neil. this is a devastating storm. we anticipate that we could see as many 75% of our customer base out of power as part of the storm. not just for a few hours. four days and potentially weeks, given the location. >> neil: what are you telling your customers and you coordinate help and all of that? >> it's important that we be transparent with them, help them understand that this is a long haul restoration. if they have needs, they need to

be evacuated by now. they still have that option. but certainly just preparing them mentally for a multi-day or multiweek restoration, that is a challenge. we want them to know that we are here for them all the way. >> neil: you have probably been telling folks this as well, it is a category two storm, they kind of get sort of nonchalant. not everyone. but a little bit cavalier, thinking that they can write it out. some parts of the state, i would imagine, it is too late to even consider that at this point. what do you tell them as far as those in their homes now, not moving? i am talking about those who are further inland, who are also going to be dealing with these power outages. >> yeah, i think it's important that customers realize that even if you are not in the past, you're still going to be impacted by the storm. of this storm is the size of north carolina. it is going to impact everybody across the carolinas. we could have flooding, and

flooding could be very, very dangerous. we want you to take those precautions, make sure that if you do see a downed power line, stay away from it. assume it is energized, it can be very harmful. and make sure you use them properly, keep them out of the garage and inside your house. we want you to stay safe and come out of the storm. some interesting stories, but all in one piece. >> neil: i hear you on that. as far as the power that you are using, your own both, they have been working, anderson come already. 24-hour shifts, but that is quite a physical undertaking right there. >> it's really enormous. because this is a statewide storm, we can to move crews from certain communities to help others until we are sure that that community is safe. so we brought in crews from florida and texas, the midwest. about 20,000 resources here in the carolinas.

the single largest deployment that we have ever had in the carolinas. these guys are ready to work, they are ready to go at it, but we have to look out for their safety. when it is safe to do so, may be a couple of days. we have to keep them answer family safe as well. >> neil: thank you. imagine dealing with all of those power related issues in the state. i am reminded of something that i heard from cooper earlier today. it gets underreported, underappreciated. in north carolina alone, there are 22,000 volunteers working in any capacity they can. to help other folks out. they can get out themselves, they have chosen not to. you have heard about the cajun navy. they come up to places like texas and louisiana to see what they can do to help. much is said about the greatest generation being gone, but i always like to you think these are the children or the

grandchildren of that generation, so it is in their dna. it is in our dna to help manage do everything we can. we are seeing that play out again and again and again. it is uplifting. even if this is getting haunting. more after this. sergeant baker, how are you? they took care of everything a to z. having insurance is something everyone needs, but having usaa- now that's a privilege.

essential for the cactus, but maybe not for people with rheumatoid arthritis. because there are options. like an "unjection™". xeljanz xr. a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. xeljanz xr can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. don't start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. tell you doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. needles. fine for some things. but for you, one pill a day may provide symptom relief. ask your doctor about xeljanz xr. an "unjection™".

>> neil: all right. it's one thing to study this. how about midway through? and other words, fly into the hurricane. get a sense of what it is doing. and may be from the of florence, get an idea of what kind of havoc she can wreak. a lot of that is going on around the carolina regions and elsewhere. just to get an idea of the magnitude of the storm and how big it is, we told you it is very big. almost the 400 miles, not only bigger than north carolina, but the state of ohio. this will be positioned entirely over north carolina.

entirely over a good chunk of south carolina. and that's what they talk about when they talk about the heavy rains from this thing. the fact that it is moving anywhere at 2-3 miles per hour. that's not very fast. with that kind of wind and rain, that means it just kind of hangs out. a lot of people would like it to do what happened with sandy. that was not a hurricane, just a tropical storm with lots of rain that kept pounding and pounding. zach is with us to tell us what is going on. i don't know whether you are very, very brave, or very crazy. i appreciate that you are here to share some insight on the storm and what you are seeing. what are you seeing? >> hey, neil. i am way up on the east side of north island. we are dropping instruments, putting these instruments all

around the south east and north side of the storm to try to get the environment in which the storm is embedded. we are going to try to figure out how slow it is going to end up going, how long it is going to loiter over the carolinas. >> neil: and what have you learned thus far? >> i'm sorry, say again, sir? >> neil: what have you learned thus far? what can you tell us about it? all right, well, that's what happens when you fly into a hurricane. god bless these guys. what they are trying to do, get some information, related back to the powers that be below. give them a good gauge of what we are talking about windwise, any sense that it is breaking up. as this one seems to be. you know, you're looking at a lot of this, and you're probably thinking good thing i am not in harm's way, i don't live in north carolina or south carolin south carolina. but you are part of this.

you might not see it, but you will see it at a grocery store near you, and for an explanation of that, i want to go to phil flynn because he has seen these hurricanes in these types of events before. they do play out, no where you live. >> i think in this storm, it can really see a major impact on what we pay for groceries in the next couple of weeks. not only are we talking about the price of means. north carolina is one of the biggest hog producers, they have major food plants in that part of the world. because of the major port. you have companies like campbell soup and one of the biggest hog processors in the world. smithfield, it is going to be shut down because of the storm. now, not only do you have an issue with these companies being shut down, you are going to have a lot of problems with getting food to the grocery store and getting transportation out of there.

ruth can be shut down, power can be shut down. so to find a truckers that supply and demand, the price of transportation could go through the roof to get the storms out of there. then you have all these people that have been impacted by the storms that work for these companies that can't get to wor work. you will have a double problem they are to find ways to get the food to the people. we have seen this and other storms. it has caused a big price spikes. we have seen a drop off and some demand for products because people don't buy -- they load up on their food before the storm, but this can have a long-term impact when it comes to truckers, a lot of times, they have to renegotiate contracts because they are in a better bargaining position, so these prices may today, not just for a short period of time, but for weeks and maybe even months to come. >> obviously, a priority in the

direct line of the storm. those issues springing to mind. but i do like to talk to people about this. it's really disproportionately covering this thing, thinking that it doesn't affect you. it does. and this has an effect on the price of everyday items that you buy because all of these things are connected by markets and trading and delivery and transportation. ultimately, the cost of those goods. so that begs the next question about how long it will last. obviously, once routes are open again and people can get goods moving again, you hope things get better, but it's not always the case, is it? >> it isn't always the case. some of these storms have price increases. we saw some of those prices stay elevated for some time. four months before they came back down, and this time, it might even be a longer-term

impact. the reason why i'm saying that is because of the transportation costs in the better economy, a lot of people have more choices to get out of these types of businesses. and it's a better jobs market, so to find people to come back to work to try to increase production, it's a lot more difficult in a much better jobs market. >> neil: all right, thank you very much. on the other side of this, we want to remind people that we are all interconnected even when it comes to the weather. not being directly in the path of that storm. i think that those would gladly take the higher grocery bills that you are going to be looking at then to be indirect life managed out of danger. but it is what it is. a little more after this, including a new report on this. this thing is going to hit land as a category one, still big, still severe, still powerful. still not going away.

the lexus ls 500 and ls 500h. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. the full value oft wyour new car? you'd be better off throwing your money right into the harbor. i'm gonna regret that. with liberty mutual new car replacement we'll replace the full value of your car. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty ♪ and an ice plant.rs with 70-megawatts, 35 mules, but we brought power to the people- redefining what that meant from one era to the next. over 90 years later we continue to build as one of the nation's largest investors in infrastructure. we don't just help power the american dream. we're part of it. this is our era. this is america's energy era. nextera energy

>> neil: all right, we are supposed to get word very soon from roy cooper as to the latest path of the storm. it will hit land sometime late tonight, early tomorrow morning. it will arrive as a category one storm, but if you are thinking that there is some relief in sight, think again. cheryl, what are we looking at here? cheryl, can you hear me? all right, that's what happens when you are covering a hurricane th fierce winds. let's get the latest. is it steve? steve, i don't know exactly where you are. i apologize. i think you are in north carolina, but where are you exactly? >> neil, in north carolina on

the beach. picking up steadily over the last hour. some pretty good whitecaps behind me. the sky is pretty much just a slate gray. there is an abandoned beach. beautiful beachfront, the houses are all boarded up. the people here have really gotten the message loud and clear from state and local officials. the storm could be a knockout blow. so the people who have decided to say that we have spoken to work pretty well considered in their approach. they knew the warnings, they knew the dangers. likely to be without power for days and weeks, but they decided to make the decision. it is just a waiting game now, as we wait for some really rough weather overnight. >> neil: all right, everyone around this area, they have kind of cleared out. >> they have. it is pretty much just a ghost town around here right now. really a lot of threats could be ahead. that's from the wind of more

than 100 miles per hour. especially from the rain, we could get more than 40 inches of rain in some areas. the weather bulletins, they are pretty dry reading except for one phrase really stood out to me. "total inundation." we really could have the total inundation. that is the fear, come sunday or monday. >> neil: they were told to move as far inland as possible. now, this could go hundreds of miles inland, so they have run out of options even going inlan inland. >> you know, it's been a real tough call for people just to decide how far and in which direction to go. a lot of people had south, but inland is going to be the challenge because so many of those rivers across north carolina will be flooded. you could actually have a worse situation than here on the coast. it's also been tough on them because of shortages. gas, bread, water, hotels, flights. it's been a really tough go.

the people you talk to her emotional. they are scared about the storm, they are scared about leaving their homes behind. >> neil: all right, category two, it is expected to make landing as a category one. i know it is tough to hear about it, but she remind people, that does not mean i walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination >> this could be a deadly blow for people who have decided to stick it out here. we could see a storm surge of 10-13 feet in some areas. that could mean real trouble. fire rescue teams are prepared, shelters are ready. this state has really done everything it could to get the word out and to get the emergency forces and supplies in place. >> neil: all right, thank you. just to put some numbers in perspective, imagine being in the middle of all of that. of course, he has done so many times. this storm started out targeting what could be up to 2 million people, then 4 million p.

that could be up to 15 million by the time the day ends today. now, it is a category two storm, but it could soon be downgraded to category one. there are some differences of opinion on that as to whether it could re-strengthen once it does hit land. ricochet off the coast. any number of scenarios have been contemplated. so these at hurricane force winds are nothing compared to the surge that you hear a great deal about. you might recall and sandy, hit the coast back in 2012, northeast, for example, when all was said and done, that was barely a category one storm. we can look at some of the numbers there. you are hearing these comparisons a lot. a lot of people didn't take that storm seriously because it was not considered to be able to inflict much damage.

and now what happened in the new jersey-new york metropolitan area, points even below, they were already well saturated from prior rains. so sandy just pounded the heck out of them. lead to one of the most severe storms in american history. that was a good example of something that people might have sort of said its category one, why should we worry? there were heavy rains, and there was heavy damage, the likes of which some communities are still trying to recover from. that was six years ago. now, revisiting these issues that a lot of folks say we have learned to avoid. but you can't avoid 40 inches of rain. you can't avoid the problems associated with one town after another underwater and without power. not for days, potentially four weeks. this is why they say you seek safety. this is why they say you look to your neighbor. look after your neighbor.

shep is next. >> shepard: about to get a brand-new update from the hurricane center. the storm now has maximum winds of 100 miles per hour. now at 11 feet instead of 13, so that's great. just 5 miles an hour. for all of the details, let's get right to the national hurricane center for a live update? here's ken graham. >> i stand here once again in operations. the 5:00 p.m. update. the latest information still is at 100 miles per hour, slowing