An estimated 74,563 structures were flooded and 5,214 people were reportedly rescued from flooding. The state of North Carolina reported 42 fatalities due to the hurricane and preliminary damage estimates of $16.7 billion. Although Florence will be remembered primarily for its record-breaking flooding, wind gusts over 100 mph caused significant damage to buildings, trees, and electrical service across the Cape Fear area, and a storm surge of over four feet eroded beaches and damaged property between Cape Fear and Cape Lookout. A USGS report indicated nine river gauges reported floods exceeding their 1-in-500 year expected return intervals. Record river flooding developed over the next several days along the Cape Fear, Northeast Cape Fear, Lumberton, and Waccamaw Rivers, destroying roads and damaging thousands of homes and businesses. A station in Loris, SC recorded 23.63 inches rain, setting a new state tropical cyclone rainfall record for the state of South Carolina. Over 30 inches of rain were measured in a few North Carolina locations, exceeding the highest single-storm rainfall amounts ever seen in this portion of the state.

the storm spent the next two days producing record-breaking rainfall across eastern North Carolina and a portion of northeastern South Carolina. After the eye crossed Wrightsville Beach, NC at 7:15 a.m. Hurricane Florence, a large and slow moving category one hurricane, made landfall during the morning of September 14, 2018. Peak wind gust at the ILM airport was 105 mph and lowest pressure was 28.51 inches of mercury or 965.5 millibars. Hurricane Florence one-minute pressure and wind gust data from Wilmington, NC.

Hurricane florence