iStock/Thinkstock(NEW BERN, N.C.) — First responders in North Carolina are scrambling to rescue residents stranded due to raging floodwaters caused by Hurricane Florence.
Officials in New Bern, a coastal town in Craven County, North Carolina, said at least 150 people were “awaiting rescue” early Friday morning as the dangerous hurricane moved ashore, packing 90 mph winds.
“More are on the way to help us,” New Bern officials tweeted early Friday. “You may need to move up to the second story, or to your attic, but WE ARE COMING TO GET YOU.”
Craven County spokeswoman Amber Parker said the situation was dire in New Bern, which is southeast of Greenville, with some residents trapped on their roofs.
“I would say certain areas of New Bern are very desperate,” Parker told ABC News on Friday. “There are people that can be trapped in water, in vehicles, on roofs. That’s just the situation for anyone.”
Emergency workers said they had gotten more than 100 calls from residents in need of assistance, but there was no way to reach everyone immediately.
“They just have to wait until the weather conditions permit them to make it here safely,” Parker said. “I don’t have the follow-up information on all of the calls. There are some that I know we have made it to and others where they’ve been rescued by other agencies or individuals — private citizens who have rescued some people.”
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