NEW BERN, N.C. -- Hundreds of people are awaiting rescue from their homes as flood waters continue to rise from Hurricane Florence.
"We're estimating we've rescued 150-200," New Bern Police Lt. David Daniels said early Friday morning, who estimates another 150-200 waiting to be rescued.
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Authorities are advising residents who have not evacuated to go to the highest point in their homes, call 9-1-1 for help, keep their cell batteries charged as best they can and wait for help to arrive.
The National Weather Service office in Newport, N.C., in a tweet called the storm surge "catastrophic."
A US Geological Service gauge for the Trent River in New Bern, North Carolina was "recording 10.1 feet of inundation" as of 1 a.m.
According to the 3 a.m. ET update from the National Hurricane Center, Florence was still moving at a speed of 6 miles per hour west-northwest and was located 45 miles southwest of Morehead City and 35 miles east of Wilmington. Sustained winds were reported around 75 miles per hour with gusts up to 90 miles per hour at Cape Lookout, North Carolina.
"Storm surge values continue to rise in areas of onshore flow on the North Carolina coast and over inland waterways. A USGS gauge in Emerald Isle, North Carolina, recently recorded 6.3 feet of inundation."