More than 95,000 already without power in NC as Hurricane Florence lashes coast

More than 95,000 power outages have been reported throughout North Carolina, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.

Coastal counties Carteret, Craven and Pender are experiencing the most outages as Hurricane Florence begins to batter the coast. The massive Category 2 storm is expected to make landfall early Friday. The North Carolina coast is experiencing hurricane-force winds, according to FEMA’s 8 p.m. update.

The center of the storm was 85 miles east/southeast of Wilmington, according to FEMA’s 8 p.m. update.

As of 8:45 p.m. Thursday, the official count stood at 95,095 power outages across the state.

Tideland Electric Management Corporation suspended restoration work just before 4 p.m. At that time, nearly 1,500 members were without power “primarily along the Nuese River,” according to Tideland EMC, which has 22,600 accounts in Hyde, Beaufort, Pamlico, Dare, Washington and Craven counties.

Duke Energy estimated earlier this week that up to 3 million of its 4 million customers in North Carolina could lose power. It is updating its outages in North and South Carolina in real-time.

Here are tips for keeping safe while dealing with not having power.

If you are using a generator for power, here are tips for making sure you don’t expose yourself to carbon monoxide poisoning. The CDC has a list of way to prevent carbon monoxide exposure. The CDC recommends not using a gasoline-powered generator less than 20 feet from any window, door or vent, and it recommends not running a generator in a garage even with the door open.

This story was originally published September 13, 2018 at 3:35 PM with the headline "More than 95,000 already without power in NC as Hurricane Florence lashes coast."